The Edmonton Oilers have pretty much had their own way with the Los Angeles Kings in recent years. This is best highlighted by knocking them out in the first round of the playoffs in each of the past three seasons.
As for in Los Angeles specifically, the Oilers entered Saturday afternoon's clash having won five of their last seven visits to Crypto.com Arena. However, this counted for little on the day, as the Kings came ready to play and ultimately beat their Pacific Division rivals 4-3 in overtime.
At the heart of the Kings' win, was none other than Warren Foegele, who left the Oilers after last season and signed a three-year, $10.5 million deal to play in Los Angeles. In his first game against his former team, the forward produced a goal and two assists, as he was awarded the First Star of the Game.
Foregele's line in general dominated against the Oilers, as he combined with Quinton Byfield and Tanner Jeannot to score all four of the Kings' goals and finish with seven total points. It was really no surprise that Byfield and Jeannot were awarded the Second and Third Star of the Game respectively.
Tough day at the office for Henrique
The person who suffered and was exposed most by this Kings trio was Adam Henrique, who was on the ice ice for all four of the opponents goals. He recorded a game-worst -4 rating, and was at least partly to blame for three of the Kings' goals.
Stuart Skinner had enjoyed a stellar December prior to Saturday's game in Los Angeles, but on a very peripheral level it must have seemed like he had returned to his inconsistent ways against the Kings. However, as bad as allowing four goals on 29 shots does sound, the reality is that the Oilers' number one goalie was only really at fault for the first one.
In fact, it was a case of Skinner having to deal with some bad luck on the day, including seeing teammate Darnell Nurse tip in the Kings' second goal. Although, this was nothing compared to the misfortune he suffered on the Kings' game-winner in overtime.
It was all as a result of one of the officials refusing the 2023 NHL All-Star, who asked for a whistle stop due to his face mask being loose. The request was denied however, as the Kings scored the aforementioned game-winner on their next shot at the Oilers goal.
Skinner was quite rightly upset, given that Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper had been given a whistle stop earlier in the game after a similar request. Certainly it seemed unfair, but you can make the case that the Oilers should have already put the game away prior to overtime.
A frustrated Oilers coach
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch did his best to remain diplomatic when asked about the controversy postgame by the media, but you know he wasn't happy. As per Mark Spector of Sportsnet, Knoblauch said:
"We saw that in the third period, when we had some momentum and they blew down the whistle for (Kuemper). I don't know, maybe Stuart didn't get his attention. But it puts the goalie in a vulnerable position, and if he pulls (his mask) off, it's a minor penalty. ... So, yeah, we didn't get the whistle. Which we definitely could have used."
As much as the Oilers arguably should have won the game, give credit to the Kings where it's due, with them being much more physical throughout. The home team had a 25-13 advantage in hits, 15-11 in blocked shots and 54.1-45.9 percent in face-off wins, to serve as another reminder of how Evander Kane is most missed.
Seeming to find some form
As with Foegele on the other side, Viktor Arvidsson also managed to score a goal against his former team. Further, it showed more evidence of a potential revial by Arvidsson, scoring a goal in his second consecutive game after just two in his first 18 appearances since signing with the Oilers during the summer.
Arvidsson was aware the Oilers missed a golden opportunity to carry on their recent momentum and make it 12 wins in their last 14 games. Speaking to the media including Jamie Umbach of NHL.com, he said:
"I feel like we came out in the second and played really well and had to puck a lot in their zone. We kind of took our foot off the gas pedal in the third and let them back into it, so I think we just need to [like before the holiday break] stay on the gas and make teams defend."
On one of those rare days when Connor McDavid looked human, Knoblauch was very clear about where the team as a whole let themselves down. As per Umback, he said:
"I think especially early in the game, the turnovers in the neutral zone. We want to carry the puck in the offensive zone as much as we can, but if it's not there, we have to put it behind the defence and establish forecheck and make the defence turn. It makes it a lot more difficult on them and I think too often, we didn't put them in that position."
At the same time, to still get something in Los Angeles was a positive of sorts, with every single point counting in the final standings. In this respect, it is interesting to see that ahead of Sunday's slate of games, that the Kings and Oilers are fourth and fifth in the Western Conference respectively; they would face each other for a fourth consecutive time in the first round of the playoffs, as the standings look at the time of writing.
Now, the Oilers will look to rebound on Sunday in Anaheim, against a Ducks team with one of the worst home records in the NHL this season. We don't anticipate Knoblauch's team taking them for granted, although this is no guarantee of them coming away with two valuable points.