Every time you expect the twists and turns to stop between the Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers, these teams pull the rug out from under you. Zach Hyman typified that, going from taking a bonehead penalty in the third period to being the Game 4 hero with the 5-4 overtime winner.
It was ugly at times, but the Oilers refused to give up, and now the series returns to Edmonton tied 2-2.
Game 4 looked like it could be lopsided after the Kings reigned over the first period to the tune of a 3-0 lead.
The Oilers rebounded nicely and scored three goals in the second period to make it 3-3. The Kings carried much of the third frame, generating a 4-3 edge, yet a late Evander Kane goal pushed this series to a third OT showdown.
An Oilers team seemingly doomed in playoff OT in the Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl era finally broke through, and now this series is a “best-of-three.”
McDavid just a stride behind Draisaitl when it comes to prolific playoff scoring
Win or lose, one or both of McDavid and Draisaitl always seem to etch their names in the history books.
It says a lot about Draisaitl that he’s (ever so slightly) ahead of McDavid when it comes to the start he’s off to in his playoff career. While Draisaitl reached 60+ playoff points in 38 games, McDavid got there in 41 postseason contests.
Draisaitl trails only Wayne Gretzky (26 games) and Mario Lemieux (34) when it comes to the fastest NHL players to reach 60+ playoff points.
McDavid and Mattias Ekhlom assisted on the Kane goal that sent Game 4 to overtime, which marked the first Oilers tally Draisaitl wasn’t involved in so far in this series.
If you want to hand out blame for Edmonton’s awful start to Game 4, you won’t lack for options. Towering Oilers depth defenseman Vincent Desharnais has been exposed more than once during this series, but getting burned by a red-hot Viktor Arvidsson was especially egregious.
Generally, you could pick on more than one Oilers player in all three first-period goals allowed. Darnell Nurse didn’t do the best work of his career in front of the net, especially on this Gabriel Vilardi goal:
Blaming Stuart Skinner alone for those goals would be foolish. However, when the opposing team’s goalie is locked in like Joonas Korpisalo has been, the Oilers might need their own netminder to steal a few. Down 3-0 after the first period, the Oilers turned to Jack Campbell hoping for a spark, and he provided one by stopping 27 of the 28 shots he faced.
Teams prefer to play the goalies they pay the most, so with Campbell getting the win, this is definitely a situation to watch ahead of Game 5.
Fiala boosts Kings in his first game of 2023 postseason
Compared to some other first-round series, injuries aren’t an overwhelming presence in this matchup. That said, maybe a few Kings fans thought “getting a 2-1 lead is a pretty big deal with Kevin Fiala sidelined.” Anyone who rolled their eyes at such a sentiment ate some crow in Game 4.
Fiala didn’t take long to make an impact in his return. The skilled skater collected two primary assists in the first period, working into a larger theme of the Kings frequently winning puck battles against the Oilers and generally beating them in transition. Fiala also drew a holding penalty on Cody Ceci that led to an Anze Kopitar goal.
Fiala, 26, scored more than a point per game during his first season with the Kings. This series was already an uphill battle for the Oilers, and it got even tougher having to handle another quality Los Angeles forward.
Draisaitl, McDavid, Oilers power play rally in second period
Factoring in a season where the Oilers drastically raised expectations — especially with a hot finish — you’d look at a 3-0 deficit as tough, but not impossible to overcome. Yet, when you think of the difficulty of this series and the Kings’ strong defensive structure, that lead looked as big as Quinton Byfield.
To their credit, the Oilers didn’t just roll over after the Kings dominated the first period of Game 4.
Fitting in with their outstanding season, Edmonton partially powered its comeback via that historic power play. Naturally, that push also featured Draisaitl and McDavid.
About five minutes into the middle frame, the two superstars earned assists on a crucial power-play marker by Evan Bouchard.
Later, McDavid finally gathered an even-strength point, rewarding Jay Woodcroft — at least temporarily — for loading him up on the same line as Draisaitl. McDavid overpowered Drew Doughty behind the Kings net, then sent a quick pass to an alert Draisaitl for his fourth goal of the series.
Getting two goals back would have been impressive, yet Edmonton’s big guns demanded three. Draisaitl drew a debatable penalty on Fiala, then hammered home another power-play tally to even the score heading into the third period.
