The Edmonton Oilers are on a 3 game road trip through California and just beat the team that I would have expected them to lose to on this trip. The Los Angeles Kings have the best winning percentage in the Western Conference, this proves the Oilers are finally looking like the team that we expected them to be at the start of the season.
Not only did they beat one of the league's best teams but the Oilers are moving up the standings quickly. They are now sitting 4th in the Pacific Division when it comes to point percentage. The problem is they are still 5 points out of the final wildcard spot. I still do not doubt that the Oilers will be able to track that spot down.
Edmonton Oilers Win Streak At 4 Games
I know it is only 33 games into the season, but that was one of my favourite games to watch this season. It had the feel of a playoff game, which for a game in late December is nice to see. The fact that these two teams have a solid rivalry went into that feel.
After taking a 2-0 lead in the first period the Kings allowed the Oilers to tie the game in the second period. The third period and overtime were not boring to watch as there were chances both ways, but the Oilers were unable to beat Talbot and the Kings were not able to beat Skinner. Both goalies made their share of big saves down the stretch.
Then when it comes to the shootout it is always a bit of a coinflip on what team will win. The good news is it flipped in favour of the Oilers. The Oilers scored on all three out of their four shots while Skinner was able to two saves securing the extra point for the Oilers.
The Kings' moves this offseason have all been made in the hope of being able to make it past the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs. After the game last night, it proves that maybe they still don't have enough to beat the Oilers. The thing the Kings are missing is a game-breaker type of player, just as the Oilers have both McDavid and Draisaitl. The Kings have no player that can take over a game.
Watching the game last night, the big move the Kings made to bring in Pierre-Luc Dubois may have made their team worse. He has lots of skill, but I didn't even notice him last night. Gabriel Vilardi and Alex Iafallo seemed to always find a way to score against the Oilers. If they didn't they would at least be noticeable. Dubois just wasn't last night, that could change moving forward, but right now it doesn't look good.
The Edmonton Oilers are back at it again tonight as they will face their final California opponent, the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks are slightly better than the Sharks but are also near the bottom of the league standings. Even though the Kings may have taken a lot of energy from the Oilers I would still expect a win tonight for the Oilers, which would put their winning streak to 5 games.