Oilers learning to win in multiple ways — and they have the Kings to thank

LOS ANGELES — Here’s a little secret that certain folks down here aren’t going to want to hear. 

The Los Angeles Kings are the best thing that ever happened to the Edmonton Oilers. 

And if the 2020’s Oilers ever win a Stanley Cup the way their forefathers did, they’re going to look back on these L.A. Kings the way the 80’s Oilers thanked Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier and those old New York Islanders that taught The Boys on the Bus a thing or two about winning. 

“They play a certain way, so they’re a completely different problem than some other teams are,” began head coach Jay Woodcroft, after a gritty, 3-1 road win that comes on the heels of a 2-0 defeat of L.A. five days previous in Edmonton. “What I like is our flexibility to be able to solve that problem. 

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“And that’s acquired, too, because we have such high-end horses that want to get let out of the gate. But this is where they’re at in their career. The maturity they have.” 

It is contrary to the Oilers’ collective DNA, the ability to succeed at low-event hockey. To defend well enough to win when your team only scores two goals is the last piece of the puzzle for these Oilers. 

And if indeed they have “acquired” that skill, then they have the Kings to thank for it. 

“That’s the way you beat a team like that,” said captain Connor McDavid, who seized this game the moment the Kings tied it at 1-1 midway through the third period. “We’ve done it twice now and I think it’s good for our group to show to ourselves — and to them — that we can beat them that way.” 

It must be said, L.A. played without some important regulars lost to injury. But here’s what would have Kings head coach Todd McLellan nervous as a possible playoff meeting approaches: 

• L.A. has always been better in the circle, where Anze Kopitar and Phil Danault are supposed to be the two best faceoff men on the ice in any meeting between these two teams. On Tuesday, McDavid (60%) and Leon Draisaitl (59%) choked out both of Kopitar (43%) and Danault (47%) for the first time in memory. 

• The Kings’ powerplay touched up Edmonton for four goals the last time these teams met here, and actually, they’ve been a Top 5 unit, not far behind the Oilers elite powerplay. On Wednesday Edmonton crushed the special teams battle, scoring two powerplay goals and leaving the Kings scoreless in four tries. 

• Goaltending is supposed to be a place where Edmonton can be had. Well, the Kings have one goal in the last six periods on Stuart Skinner. 

• Edmonton is bigger and faster, and the McDavid-Draisaitl duo has shown it can defend the Kopitar-Danault, yet still find a way to score that extra goal in a one-goal game. 

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L.A. has helped to forge an Oilers team that is better than the one they met in Game 1 of last year’s opening round. Not only is that the Kings’ problem, with a first-round matchup the most likely scenario, it is also their fault. 

“However the other team plays, their type of style, we have the guys in here that are smart enough, have had enough experience, to play that way,” Skinner said. “It just shows that our guys are ready for any type of style.” 

This game opened with a first period unlike any we’ve seen, as both teams posted a season-low in shots on goal, with L.A. leading 3-2 in shots after a scoreless 20 minutes. 

“I’ve never seen a game where shots were 3-2 after the first period,” said McDavid, shaking his head. “It’s low-event hockey, the little things matter, and you have to play that way. We like playing that way honestly. 

“It makes for competitive hockey. That may not translate to TV, but on the ice it’s highly competitive, it’s emotional, intense and those are the games we love to play.” 

Remember Game 6 in here last spring, when the Oilers trailed the series 3-2 and McDavid played what we’re still calling the best game of his NHL career? Well, when Viktor Arvidsson’s long shot weaved through a screen and finally solved Skinner at 10:26 of the third period, McDavid hopped the boards and grabbed this game right by the throat. 

He was a man possessed on that next shift, finally drawing the penalty that resulted in Draisaitl’s game-winner on the powerplay. 

“When we got scored on, you could just tell that he was seeing red,” Skinner said. “He was just going after it — you could just see it in the way he was skating. The way he was battling both ends of the ice. 

“That is leadership. He shows the way, and that’s why we love him.” 

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It was vintage McDavid, the best player becoming the best player at the exact moment his team needs him to come out of that phone both with a cape on. 

“We talk a lot about that, the momentum swings in the game,” he said, 147 points now in the bank this season. “Shifts after goals either way are really big, to either cement your goal or to get momentum back right away. I thought our line did a good job of going out and grabbing momentum back by getting a power (play) and scored a big goal.” 

First place in the Pacific can still be had, even though Vegas is doing a marvellous job of holding on to their spot. 

But whatever happens with the Golden Knights, we have to say it: 

A first-round meeting with the Los Angeles Kings might just be the best thing that could happen to the Edmonton Oilers. 

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