The Riverside Press-Enterprise
BACK IN THE GAME
Behind a shutout by Quick, Kings turn the tables on Oilers in Game 4 to even series
LOS ANGELES » The Kings spent a season defying the odds and on Sunday they extended a resilient campaign that has undermined experts from start to finish with a 4-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers to even their best-of-7 series at two games a side.
Entering the year, the Kings were widely projected to turn in a fourth straight miserable march to nowhere. Entering Game 4, they lingered in the towering shadow cast by two consecutive six-goal losses that appeared to swing the series dramatically in Edmonton’s favor.
But Sunday’s match at Crypto. com Arena saw a pivot back toward the puck-hunting, prediction-bucking Kings, who gutted out an unforeseen return to the playoffs amid adverse circumstances.
Winger Carl Grundstrom led the way with two goals and an assist. Forward Trevor Moore and defenseman Troy Stecher each contributed a goal and an assist. Jonathan Quick dazzled in goal after being pulled in Game 3. He made 30 saves in a shutout that harkened back to his dominant playoff performances a decade ago.
Mike Smith stopped 42 shots in defeat, having now won just two of his past 13 postseason decisions.
The Kings carried a 34-18 advantage in shots on goal into the second intermission. They had to absorb more of the play early in the third period as Edmonton’s strategy became more risky and its game grew more frenetic.
But midway through the stanza, Edmonton’s sustained pressure led not to a Kings penalty but rather an offensive-zone interference minor on Edmonton star Connor Mcdavid. That relieved the mounting pressure and though the Kings did not score on the power play, they sealed Edmonton’s fate with a marker by Grundstrom with 4:54 remaining. He also added
an empty-net goal with 91 seconds to play.
As Grundstrom drove the net, he was pushed and taken down from behind by defenseman Darnell Nurse. As Grundstrom continued sliding toward Smith, he slipped the puck past him as all three men formed a pile of humanity in the crease, where both teams promptly gathered for pushing, shoving and two video reviews that upheld the goal.
A first period free of power plays aided the Kings in leaping out to a 2-0 lead, but in the second they had to kill a pair of penalties and did so with aplomb. Edmonton managed just two shots in four minutes with the man advantage.
In the final two minutes of the period, it was Quick again repelling an Edmonton offensive late in the frame. After losing his glove, he made a barehanded save on winger Kailer Yamamoto, whose shot struck Quick and then the crossbar. He would recover, still sans mitt, to make a blocker save on a subsequent bid from winger Evander Kane, eliciting a roar from the crowd.
Less than three minutes into the second period, the Kings nearly scored during a goalmouth scramble but winger Brendan Lemieux was pulled from behind and away from a puck lying loose in front of the goal line. Center Phillip Danault would later turn a takeaway into a breakaway, only to be foiled by Smith.
Before the game, the Kings spoke of grasping the heft of the moment and playing opportunistically. Despite energy and alacrity early, they could not convert on their prime chances early.
Right off the hop, defenseman Alex Edler’s shot generated a sterling followup opportunity for Moore that went for naught. Center Blake Lizotte later slammed the puck against the post with a huge opening to shoot at from close range.
That all changed eight minutes into the first, when Moore scored the sort of close-quarters goal that was surely a welcome sight on the bench and in the stands alike. A dumpin allowed the Kings’ forecheck to get set up and Grundstrom to recover the puck. It popped toward the goal, where Danault darted in on his backhand to pull Smith toward the right post. Instead of shooting, he dropped a pass for Moore at the left upright for a tap-in tally.
After a successful penalty kill, it was Lizotte’s turn to atone. He initiated a scoring sequence and provided a screen in front as Stecher let fly with a shot from above the right faceoff circle. It deflected off defenseman Duncan Keith’s stick and past Smith with 5:57 to play in the first.
Quick finished the frame with a stellar save on defenseman Brett Kulak to preserve the Kings’ hardearned lead and close the period. It was the sort of door-slamming mentality he and the Kings displayed for 60 minutes on Sunday.