Oilers' stars come out to play in Hollywood
Edmonton chases Quick from Kings' net as series threatens to become one-sided
The nagging question after a decisive rebound win like the 6-0 beating Edmonton hung on Los Angeles in Game 2 is whether it was simply human nature talking or if the worm had really turned in this series.
That's what both sides were looking to find out in Game 3, with the Kings on home ice and looking to do some rebounding of their own.
Well, it didn't take long before everyone got their answer. The worm didn't just turn, it started doing somersaults after the Oilers picked up at Crypto.com Arena right where they left off at Rogers Place, steamrolling the Kings 8-2.
OK, they were steamrolling them for 30 minutes, actually, up 5-0 midway through the second period before the human nature thing kicked in and they took their foot off the gas. That allowed L.A. to make things interesting, and even conjure up visions of the five-goal Miracle on Manchester comeback 40 years ago, but the storyline ran out of oxygen in the third period.
And you have to wonder now if the Kings have, too. The Oilers are up 2-1 in the series and must have surely planted the seeds of doubt in L.A.'S mind — that maybe their best isn't going to be good enough.
The same Oilers team that was rolling down the home stretch to end the regular season is now picking up speed in the playoffs. Two goals from Zach Hyman, two more from Evander Kane and two points each from Connor Mcdavid and Leon Draisaitl paved the way for the shift in series momentum.
Since falling behind 2-0 at 16:48 of the first period of Game 1, Edmonton has outscored Los Angeles 16-4.
After dealing with a minor case of stage fright in their first playoff game in front of home ice fans since 2017, the Oilers showed no such nerves in their first post-season game in front of an opposition rink — mostly because they took the LA crowd out of it early.
Draisaitl quieted things down at 3:35 of the first period, converting a two-on-one with Mcdavid and the Oilers were off to the races. Mcdavid wasn't done there. He drew a penalty at 5:46 and then set up Hyman for a blue-paint tap-in 21 seconds later for the eighth-straight Edmonton goal of the series.
The Kings, to their credit, pushed back hard. They had back-to-back power plays in the second half of the first period but couldn't get anything done, making them zero-for-10, with one short-handed goal against, on the man advantage through the first seven periods. Couple that with Edmonton's power play, five-for-nine over the same span, and special teams continue to be a major factor in the series.
“It really comes down to the battle level,” said Ryan Nugent-hopkins. “Whether you score or not (on the power play), you want to create chances and win battles and build that momentum. And the PK is something we've been working on all year. Special teams are so important in the playoffs. One penalty kill here or one power play goal there can be the difference in the game.”
Los Angeles outshot Edmonton 19-7 in the opening 20 minutes, but Mike Smith continued his solid work in net to make it four shutout periods in a row.
Any chance the Kings had of fighting their way back into the game seemed to wither away and die in the second period when the Oilers piled on with three more goals. Kane made it 3-0, at 6:27, Hyman's second of the game at 7:42 later spelled the end of Kings starter Jonathan Quick, and Kane slipped one past reliever Cal Petersen at 9:51 to make it 5-zip.