If you’re a hockey purist with no dog in the fight, then you are absolutely hoping for Oilers-Kings IV this spring.
Watching a full series worth of the intense, high-octane stuff we watched Monday night at Rogers Place, back and forth with plenty of chances and drama at both ends, is exactly what fans are looking for in a post-season match-up.
“It was pretty intense, tight-checking, a lot of emotion, a lot of intensity,” said Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch. “For a January game, it was as close to playoff hockey as we’ve seen.”
Indeed. As far as 1-0 games go, it was a beauty.
But if you have any sort of rooting interest in the Edmonton Oilers, then Los Angeles probably isn’t the opponent you want to see in the first round.
Not only does it get harder to keep beating the same team over and over again, but this is very clearly not the same LA team that Edmonton eliminated three straight years, rolling over them in five games last season.
They beat Edmonton in their first meeting this season in late December and gave them everything they could handle in a hard-fought rematch on Monday.
“They’re just a good team, they have a lot of good players,” said Leon Draisaitl. “Their system has changed a little bit but it’s just two good teams going at it, two teams that know each other really well. You’re going to get games like that.”
Edmonton got the job done, with Connor McDavid breaking open a scoreless tie late in the second period, on his 28th birthday, no less, and the Oilers closing the deal in the third period, but this year’s Kings are no joke.
“It was very much a playoff game where two teams just went at it and played really solid,” said Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner, who posted a 31-save shutout. “They’re a heck of a team. They know how to play us as well as we know how to play them.
“That’s what makes it so much fun and so exciting. I’m really happy that we were able to get this win, especially after they beat us last game.”
As good as the Oilers have been lately, L.A. is right there. The two teams came into the game with the two highest winning percentages in the league since Nov. 27 (L.A. at .777 and the Oilers at .775).
And Monday night was another slice of evidence that Round 4 could go either way.
“Tough game, they’re a really good team,” said winger Zach Hyman. “We’ve played them I don’t know how many times in the past three years, probably the most out of any team. There was pretty much no space out there.
“They’re the best defensive team in the league if I’m not mistaken. They don’t give up much.”
The Oilers were lucky to escape the opening minutes with a scoreless tie. The Kings outshot Edmonton 10-2 through the first 10 minutes and could have been up 2-0 if not for a Skinner glove save for the ages on a two-on-one and then Ty Emberson pulling a puck off the goal line later in the period.
But the Oilers settled in and righted themselves, tipping the scales back in their favour. It’s now one win each through two meetings.
“I thought they were better than us in the first period,” said Draisaitl. “But those games happen sometimes when you’re coming off a long road trip. We found our legs and hung on at the end, did a good job defending.”
The Oilers have shown enough over the last year and a half that they don’t have to be afraid of anyone, but facing somebody a little further down the food chain might have fans in Edmonton breathing a little easier.
But if it’s the Kings again, buckle up.
“It’s always that way with L.A., always that kind of grinding, low-scoring hockey,” said McDavid. “We know how to play these games with them.
“I thought we maybe beat them at their own game today. Just playing patient, finding a way to get one, and holding on for a win.”