These past few seasons have seen games between the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings take on added importance, just by virtue of having faced off against each other in the first round of the playoffs for three consecutive years. Helping add some spice to the fixture, Warren Foegele came back to haunt his former team earlier this season, by collecting three points and earning the First Star of the Game in a 4-3 overtime win.
On top of all this, the Pacific Division rivals have remained close to each other in the Western Conference standings for the majority of the 2024-25 campaign to date. This has been helped by the Oilers and Kings respectively having the first and third-best records in the NHL since late November.
With all of this in mind, the stage was ideally set for Monday night's clash in Edmonton, with just two points separating them in the standings and the Oilers looking to avenge the aforementioned overtime loss last month. What ensued was a tight but intriguing game, which the home side subsequently held on to win 1-0.
Stuart Skinner is the main man for the Oilers
It was important for the Oilers to put on a solid defensive effort after two consecutive poor performances which saw them leak a combined eight goals. At the heart of this bounce-back display was the excellent Stuart Skinner, who stopped all 30 shots he faced on the night and took home the First Star of the Game.
This is not to suggest Skinner was perfect, but he was damn well more than good enough after allowing four goals the previous time the two teams met. He made several important stops on the night, to maintain a much-needed shutout.
The 2023 All-Star was at his best in the first period, as the Kings dominated and outshot the Oilers 14-6. His biggest moment came when Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe broke away on a two-on-one, but he made a key stop from the latter to keep the game tied at 0-0.
Skinner discussed the moment postgame with the media, even giving himself some rare credit. As per Jamie Umbach of NHL.com, he said:
"Yeah, it was a good save. I think Kuley played it really well in front of me. It was an amazing pass by Kopitar, and then Kempe obviously got a good shot off and I just went into a spread and did everything that I could. It was kind of an out-of-the-box save and I got enough of it to go above the net. Thank goodness. I think it was a really good save, and that's what we needed."
Oilers captain Connor McDavid was full of praise for his teammate between the pipes, knowing what a big moment the save represented just five minutes into the contest. Also as per Umbach, he said:
"He's been playing great and was really good early on. That save on the two-on-one really got us going. It helped a lot. It's a team that you want to play out front of. When they get you and they have a lead on you, they can make it pretty tough. So a huge save and he was solid all night."
The birthday boy comes through for the Oilers
Talking of McDavid, he was the other headline act in Edmonton on the night, and not just because he was celebrating his 28th birthday. He also gave himself the perfect gift, by scoring the goal which turned out to be the game-winner.
The goal came in a four-on-four scenario, with the magnificent Leon Draisaitl almost inevitably involved in setting up his captain with less than two minutes remaining in the second period. As McDavid said:
"We never practice four-on-four. A lot of it's just instinct. A lot of it's just playing together for so long. It was a great battle, a great skate, a great battle off the ice and he makes a great play to Nursey."
The game remained in doubt right up until the very end, with the Oilers never able to find that insurance goal. However, thanks to Skinner, they were able to hang on for an important win which gave them a four-point lead over the Kings in the standings, albeit having played two more games.
Displaying mental fortitude following a loss
The shutout win for the Edmonton native also represented the ninth consecutive time he has followed up a loss with a win, which of course has proved to be invaluable considering questions remain about his consistency. This is countered by usually stepping up when it matters most, with Monday night offering yet another example of his talent level.
Skinner gave some insight into how he's able to bounce back from losses. He said:
"It comes from a lot of things. It comes from how the team plays after games like that as well, but I think for myself personally, I've gone through a lot of experiences that have helped me become more resilient. As the games go on and after games like that, you always want to come back and really bring it and show the guys that you can bounce back. I think that's an extremely important thing for a goalie to be able to do."
With the win, the Oilers improve to 27-13-3 on the season and find themselves in fourth place in the Western Conference as of Tuesday morning, just four points off of top spot. Next up will be an equally important road game on Wednesday night against the Minnesota Wild, who sit one place and one point above them in the standings.