Three Keys To An Edmonton Oilers Victory In Game One Against Los Angeles Kings

The long wait for the Edmonton Oilers and their playoffs ends tonight as they open their series against the Los Angeles Kings. The Oilers have defeated the Kings in the first round over the past two seasons and are poised to beat them again, but they still do need to win the games.

Over the couple games against the Kings the Oilers have shown that they have what it takes to beat the Kings. In my opinion, there are a few things that the Oilers need to top to guarantee a win in tonight's game in particular.

Build Doubt In The Kings Early

The fact that the Oilers have beaten the Kings twice in a row will be sitting at the back of the minds of most of the Kings players. This may cause the Kings to have the "not this again" thoughts grow much faster than they would in a normal scenario.

Professional sports are just as mental as physical, maybe not as much on a team level but on a personal note. If the Oilers can get a handful of the Kings players in their head then this is going to be a game that could get out of control and make for a short series.

Oilers Need To Play A Patient Game

As fun as it is going to be to watch some Oilers playoff hockey the LA Kings are going to do everything in their power to make it the most boring and uneventful hockey game possible. The Kings love playing the 1-3-1 a system that is meant to kill speed in the neutral zone.

For the Oilers, they will need to wait for the Kings to make a mistake if they want to take advantage of them. The same goes for the other side the Oilers need to not make any mistakes by trying to force a play trying to break through the 1-3-1.

This is why the Oilers need to be patient, they will need to chip the puck in and grind on the forecheck to be successful. The last regular season games against the Kings have shown that the Oilers can play that way and can have success doing it that way.

Play Discipline

We all know the Edmonton Oilers' powerplay is one of the killer components of their game, but the LA Kings' powerplay is also in the top 3rd of the league. Couple that with the Oilers penalty kill being average and that is an area the Oilers will want to avoid if they hope to win a game.

If this game is a game where the Oilers are constantly sitting in the penalty box, the Oilers will likely lose this game. The Oilers are the better team in every aspect of the game except for their short-handed. The Kings' penalty kill was the second-best in the league during the regular season. For the Oilers, they will want to stay out of the box.

I think the Oilers are going to come out and prove that this year they want to win the cup. Expect them to come out flying and put the Kings in their spot by scoring early. The longer this game is scoreless the more it favours the Kings, the Oilers know that, which is why I think they score one early.