LOS ANGELES — The Kings came out flat and were drilled by the Oilers 4-1. Connor McDavid was too much to handle as he recorded 4 points on the night.
Statistically, this was a game that favored the Kings, and it should’ve led to a dominant victory. Los Angeles dominated the puck possession and spent far more time in the offensive zone.
Los Angeles had 40 shots on goal, which was more than double the amount Edmonton had. The Oilers had very limited chances in the offensive zone as they only had 17 shots on goal.
Power plays also favored the Kings as they had four opportunities while the Oilers only had three chances. Despite the extra chance, Los Angeles failed to score, while Edmonton scored a power-play goal.
On paper, everything should’ve gone right for the Kings, but that didn’t translate to the final result. One skater on the Oilers changed the entire trajectory of this game.
Connor McDavid put on a show tonight as he recorded one goal and three assists. Of the four points McDavid recorded, three of them came in the first period.
Edmonton notched their first two points of the game from McDavid setting up goals for Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin. After gaining a two-goal lead, McDavid scored a goal on a rush chance to increase the score to 3-0 after the first period.
“I don’t think we gave up a whole lot at all,” Coach Laviolette said. “But the ones that we gave up was to a world-class player.”
To put the nail in the King’s coffin, McDavid facilitated one more assist to Podkolzin on the empty net. The Oilers reminded the Kings that McDavid will always be the ultimate game changer when they face off.
Although Los Angeles had more chances to score, they failed to capitalize while McDavid didn’t. McDavid recorded a point on every goal for the Oilers and stole the victory from the Kings.
With the loss to the Oilers, the Kings are currently 0-3-2 and are tied for the worst record in the NHL. The Kings may be win-less through five games, but there is still belief the team can turn the ship around.
“It’s not from lack of caring I can tell you that much. We’re all buying in. We all want to win so badly,” Brandt Clarke said. “It's a tight-knit group in here, it's just frustrating, it's not going our way right now.”
Year in and year out, the Kings make adjustments, but they fall flat against the Oilers. This game is a warning for Los Angeles that execution must be better if the Kings want to see improvement.
McDavid has tormented the Kings in four consecutive playoff series and he did so tonight. Even when the Kings had all the advantage with the puck, they could not overcome the brilliance of McDavid.