Edmonton Oilers take Game 5, poised to bounce LA Kings in 1st round yet again

The Edmonton Oilers got a huge 3-1 win in Game 5 on Tuesday night, roaring back from a 2-0 series deficit in the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup, to take a massive 3-2 lead over the LA Kings. The Oilers are now poised to bounce the LA Kings in the opening round for the fourth year in a row, as the real Edmonton squad has just now begun to emerge.

Evander Kane, Mattias Janmark, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins got the goals for the Edmonton Oilers. Andrei Kuzmenko opened the scoring for the LA Kings at the 3:33 mark of the second period. Kane got his second of the postseason to tie the game midway through the second:

It’s worth pointing out that John Klingberg got a crucial assist on the goal. For Klingberg, it’s great to see him contribute to the team, especially when it seemed like his season was done after landing on LTIR to end the regular season. Then, Janmark also got his second of the postseason to give the Oilers a 2-1 lead:

The play started with the Oilers breaking out of their own end, leading a rush that led to a scoring chance due to a miscue in the neutral zone. Janmark picked up a rebound and popped home the go-ahead goal.

Janmark’s goal would stand as the game-winner. The Oilers now have a wonderful opportunity to close out the series on Thursday night at home. The Kings, in the meantime, will be looking to stay alive and force a Game 7 after looking dominant in the first two games of the series.

Kings’ Shortened bench strategy favoring Edmonton Oilers

The Kings’ shortened bench strategy once again favored the Edmonton Oilers. Kings’ coach Jim Hiller did not deviate much from his plan, whittling his lineup down to roughly three lines and four defensemen.

While Hiller deployed his lineup more evenly in Game 5 than he did in Game 4, his fourth-liners averaged five minutes on the night. His top four blue liners found themselves notching more than 20 minutes of ice time, with veteran Drew Doughty getting the lion’s share at 26:06.

That strategy worked in the first two games, but in the latter three, the Kings have been running out of gas. Yes, there’s a time and place to shorten a team’s lineup. But making it a permanent strategy has seemed to cost the Kings in this series.

With the Kings unlikely to deviate from their plan, the Oilers need only wear down the Kings and wait for the perfect time to strike. It remains to be seen if the Kings deviate from their plan in Game 6 as they look to stay alive.

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