EDMONTON — This series became about desperation much earlier than expected. But here we are.
Up 2-0 in this Western Conference series, we have always believed this: The Los Angeles Kings simply can not match the Edmonton Oilers’ desperation Friday, just the way Winnipeg couldn’t match the Blues’ level Thursday night in St. Louis, or Washington up 2-0 in Montreal on Friday.
That’s because only one team at Rogers Place will have their season on the line — the Oilers.
“We’ve been in desperate situations before. This would be one of them,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid. “We’ve been successful in these situations before — you’ve got to find a way to do that again. It just starts with a big game tonight, a good game tonight, and go from there.”
The Kings, meanwhile, tip-toed through their post-practice media availabilities while simply trying not to stir any pots or rile up any opponents. This series is going exactly the way the Kings want — two wins, 12 goals for, they’ve chased Stuart Skinner into a backup role for Game 3 — and all they can do is mess thigs up by saying too much.
Kings head coach Jim Hiller won’t use the word “desperate” when speaking with his charges before the game.
“It’s just about keeping our intensity, keeping our level. That’s what’s most important.”
Is Picks the fix?
Goaltender Calvin Pickard rides to the rescue again this spring, a little earlier this time around.
A year ago, Pickard relieved Stuart Skinner in Games 4 and 5 of Round 2 against Vancouver. This time, he’s coming out of the bullpen just three games into the opening round.
Does he approach it any differently this spring than last?
“Same way I’ve approached every game as an Oiler: Go out, do my job, and give our team a chance to win,” he said. “The first two games didn’t go as planned, basically, in all facets. But we’ve got a better effort in this locker room, and we’re definitely going to do that tonight.”
He’s watched from the bench for all but the final 9:30 of Game 2, and seen the same thing the rest of us have witnessed.
“They’re a really good team, and their top guys are clicking right now on the power play. But it’s up to us to adjust and make it difficult on them,” said the Winnipegger, who had the first 20-win season of career this season at age 32. “It’s been nice to play a decent amount there towards the end of the year, get some big wins against some good teams. It’s an exciting opportunity for me.”
Since the turn of the calendar, Pickard has the best numbers on the Oilers’ staff: 14-6-1 with a .901 save percentage and a 2.84 goals-against average.
“You look at his record, since probably January 1, how many games he’s won,”: said head coach Kris Knoblauch, who knew midway through Game 2 he’d be making a goaltending switch. “We felt that we’re in a position where we need to win a game, and we have a lot of confidence in him.”
Here are the rest of the lines, though the defensive pairings Edmonton used at the morning skate could change. Asked about a pairing of John Klingberg and Evan Bouchard, Knoblauch said, “I wouldn’t read much into that.”
Edmonton lineup
Draisaitl-McDavid-Hyman
Podkolzin-Nugent-Hopkins-Arvidsson
Kane-Henrique-Brown
Frederic-Janmark-Perry
Klingberg-Bouchard
Kulak-Walman
Nurse-Emberson
Pickard
Kings lineup
Kuzmenko-Kopitar-Kempe
Fiala-Byfield-Laferriere
Foegele-Danault-Moore
Malott-Helenius-Turcotte
Anderson-Doughty
Gavrikov-Spence
Edmundson-Clarke
Kuemper
Not so special teams
Special teams haven’t just been a win in this series so far for the Kings. It’s been a K.O.
The Kings power play is 5-for-10 in the series, while the Oilers’ vaunted power play — one of the best in the league for several years now — is scoreless in five attempts.
“I think we need to just clean up our puck play, and some of the decisions that we’ve made,” said McDavid of a unit that has not been able to handle what has been an aggressive Kings penalty kill. “They have a kill that you’re not going to necessarily have a ton of zone time on them, or you’re not going to just kind of massage it and pass it around.
“It’s going to be work,” McDavid said, “and the look that you do get is going to be a Grade and A-plus. So we’ve got to be ready to bear down on that. I thought we’ve found ways to generate chances. We just haven’t buried them.”
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