And The Last Shall Be First
Let’s start at the end of Game 1, which given how this once well-in-hand playoff game that suddenly turned chaotically out of hand finished up, is probably the only place to start for purposes of discussion. Suffice it to say Phil Danault saved the Los Angeles Kings from what would have been a soul-sucking loss to the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of the Kings’ first-round series by launching a fluttering, barely moving puck past leaping teammate Warren Foegele and past a screened Stuart Skinner in the Edmonton goal to snatch a victory from the jaws of ignoble defeat. There were 41.1 seconds left in the third period of what would turn out to be a 6-5 Kings win. Danault, who joked that he “got all of it” when asked about the game-winner, described the entire third period this way – “a little bit shocking I would say, like being up, and being down, and up again……that’s playoff though, that’s emotion.”
That’s a pretty good way to sum up a game that saw the Kings take a 4-0 late into the second and extend their lead to 5-2 4:59 into the third period before going sideways for about 11 minutes in the latter stages of the third period. With less than two minutes to go, they inexplicably found themselves tied 5-5 before Danault’s second goal of the game saved the day for the Oilers. There was a lot to unpack after the game and the Kings players seemed to understand they dodged a great bullet. It’s easy to ask what the impact would have been had the Kings not found a way to secure the win or to suggest it might have done irreparable harm to the team’s psyche. But that’s not what happened. Instead, the Kings are exactly where they wanted to be after one game, making the Oilers chase them. And, who knows, perhaps later this spring we’ll look back on this game, this most improbable of LA Kings wins, and say this is where it all began.
The Past Is The Past
It took 2:49 for the narrative that has haunted the Los Angeles Kings through three straight first-round matchups with the Oilers to be turned on its head. For days leading up to the series Hiller and his players have tried to shrug off those three straight first-round losses. New team. New series. New everything. But nothing is new until it’s proven to be so. But a year after failing to score a single power play goal in what would be a five-game series loss to Edmonton, the Kings proved they are different and that, at least when it comes to special teams and at least on this night, the past is the past. Awarded an early power play thanks to strong work by the Kings’ fourth line in the offensive zone, Adrian Kempe found Kevin Fiala whose deft cross-ice pass was on Andrei Kuzmenko’s tape at the side of the net and the Kings had an early 1-0 lead. About 10 minutes later Drew Doughty was whistled for cross-checking behind the Kings’ net. A year ago, the Oilers power play, led by superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, feasted on what was a strong Kings’ penalty kill as they scored nine times on 20 chances in the first round. But once again history was relegated to, well, the past as the Kings killed off the opportunity. They would allow the Oilers just one more power-play opportunity and kill that as well. The Kings would also score another power play goal in the third period while enjoying a 5-on-3 and had a lengthy 5-on-3 later in the period that yielded several good looks although they could not find the back of the net on that occasion. All in all, a good night on the special teams – and a good night for the team’s discipline.
Drew Doughty Time
I had a chance to observe Drew Doughty pretty closely during the 4 Nations Face-Off in Montreal and Boston. The story is well-known but worth repeating. After breaking his ankle in training camp Doughty was a long-shot to make Canada’s roster as he’d only played in a handful of games leading up to the tournament. He told me he couldn’t sleep because he was worried he wouldn’t get the call. He did and played like the future Hall of Famer he is especially as Shea Theodore was hurt early in competition. Fast forward to this playoff opener. Doughty spoke recently, as he did at 4 Nations, about the burning desire to get back to playing winning hockey. It’s been more than a decade since the Kings won a playoff series. But desire is one thing, performance is another and Doughty has admitted he’s felt like he’s still behind the curve at least according to his lofty standards as the regular season wound down. What would Game 1 bring? Or rather what would Doughty bring to Game 1? How about vintage Doughty. First, Doughty made a great sprawling block of a Victor Arvidsson scoring chance after a potentially costly turnover at the Kings blue line in the first period. Then, with time running out in the first frame, Doughty took the puck just inside the Edmonton blue line and ripped a shot that Skinner turned aside only to have Quinton Byfield glove down the rebound and bounce the puck off Skinner’s back into the net for a crucial 2-0 lead. In total, Doughty finished the night with an assist, three blocked shots and a minus-1 rating during 26:09 in ice time that led all Kings.
Kuzmenko For Real
It was interesting that almost all of Adrian Kempe’s morning skate conversation Monday involved answering questions about linemate Andrei Kuzmenko which Kempe seemed totally fine with. The line of questioning reflects the kind impact Kuzmenko has had since coming over from Philadelphia at the trade deadline and the kind of unknown quantity he represents for the Kings as they seek to break this three-season losing streak to the Oilers. In some ways Kuzmenko reflects the entire Kings coming into the post-season. What Kuzmenko and the Kings are capable of has been clearly evident in recent weeks having secured home ice advantage for the first time in this run of playoff clashes with Edmonton. But the playoffs are something else entirely. Not everyone rises to the occasion. Sometimes the moment is too big. Kuzmenko had certainly given no indication that he would shrink from the challenge. But the fact he’d become such an important figure on this team playing on the team’s top line with captain Anze Kopitar and Kempe and had helped reinvigorate the Kings’ moribund power play meant that being able to translate that to the playoffs was nothing short of crucial. Asked and answered. It’s not a stretch to suggest that Kuzmenko, playing in his first-ever NHL playoff game, was the best player on the ice on this night. Certainly, he was the most dynamic. From his early power play goal to a deft little pass to Kempe who scored to make it 3-0 in the second to not being caught out of position or trying to do too much and allowing the Oilers to counter, Kuzmenko was exactly as advertised. He finished his first playoff game with three points, adding a power play assist on the Kings’ 5-on-3 goal in the third. Not a bad way to announce that the playoffs are exactly where Kuzmenko needs to be.
Connor Conundrum
Coming into Monday’s game, Connor McDavid had somehow managed to collect 36 points in the 18 playoff games contested by these two teams in the last three years. Do the math, that’s two points a game. Hiller was asked Monday morning if he thought the Kings could win a playoff series if McDavid continued to average two points a game. Hiller said he hoped it wouldn’t come to that. But what is now indisputable is that the Kings can win at least one playoff game when McDavid gets four points. Pretty sure the Kings aren’t interested in testing the theory of how many points they can allow to the Edmonton captain and still manage to collect wins. But it was a reminder to everyone in the Kings’ room that where McDavid is there is danger. Always. And whether it was conscious or not or simply the strange way the third period unfolded with the long 5-on-3 and a couple of missed open nets once Edmonton pulled Skinner with more than three minutes to play, the show put on by McDavid (one goal, three assists) was a reminder that to exhale is to court disaster.
“I don’t think we took the foot off the gas. But, you know, that’s a high offensive power team over there,” Kopitar said. “And when you give them a sniff, they’ll take it. And they certainly did. So, you know, obviously, being up 4-0 or 4-1 going into the third period. We want to make sure that we lock it down and not make it too interesting like we did tonight.”
