***Playoffs Rd 1 Gm 1 GDT LA Kings @ Edmonton Oilers 7:00pm on ESPN2 & BSSC***

DarkLeftHand said:
Lots of ifs tonight.. I think that Lewis goal should have stood. Definitely not batted or willfully directed in with his glove
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Agreed. I saw it that even Fox and Evans had it wrong. I didn't see it as his hand coming off the stick. It was on the end and he opened his hand to use the knob/end to knock it down. If he let go of the stick to hit it, the stick wouldn't be perfectly aligned glove to glove.

Anyway, that goal wouldn't have mattered ultimately. Blake built a team that can get to the playoffs, but not one that can win in them.
 
It's kind of hard to be optimistic about a loss like this. But it's only 1 game & we can win the next one. We have to do better on the PK & cut down on rush chances. But to me the biggest mistake was the penalties they took. None of them were defending scoring chances. They need to be way more disciplined. On the positive side this year's 4th line is better than last year's. And I disagree with the Lewis goal getting called back. So does Trevor Lewis.
 
Dr. Tran said:
It's kind of hard to be optimistic about a loss like this. But it's only 1 game & we can win the next one. We have to do better on the PK & cut down on rush chances. But to me the biggest mistake was the penalties they took. None of them were defending scoring chances. They need to be way more disciplined. On the positive side this year's 4th line is better than last year's. And I disagree with the Lewis goal getting called back. So does Trevor Lewis.
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the realization has to set in that they can’t do much better on pk. This must be akin to facing the 80s oilers pp. you have to be severely disciplined. Moore took an awful penalty at a critical time. The Dubois penalties were a little absurd but the McDavid one definitely undisciplined.
 
Also, what's the deal with the Edmonton anthem singer singing in the crowd? That's seems a bit gimmicky.
 
It’s about an acceptance of the fact the Oilers have learned to beat the 1-3-1. How many more games will it take to make that point? It’s time for Plan B, if there is one, starting with the goaltending. Rittich plays the Oilers better than Talbot. Play him. Adopt the Panthers defensive style, and line everyone up at the blue line, forcing them to dump & chase. It can’t do any worse than what we’ve been shown to date.
 
symbology said:
Look at the bright side, only 3 more games of Rob Blake as GM, and hopefully the French Connection in the front office gets the boot as well.
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You beat me to it, exactly what I came here to say. Long term, it's better for us if the Kings get smoked in this series.
 
Again, really don’t care any more waking up this morning. Watching them last night reminded me of all the ways I don’t believe in this team.

That said, Kings can beat Skinner with traffic and if Hiller is serious he’ll start Rittich. I actually think Kings could still pull this out in an ugly back-and-forth series provided we get good games out of the D also. And they hit more last night than in the past which really will make an impact if they keep at it. Looked like they rattled Nurse and Kane both at times.

If Edmonton played like that against a good team they would have lost. McDavid’s 5 assists and Hyman’s hattrick aside, Kings gave them free entry all night. That doesn’t happen against NSH, even.
 
kIngsX said:
It’s about an acceptance of the fact the Oilers have learned to beat the 1-3-1. How many more games will it take to make that point? It’s time for Plan B, if there is one, starting with the goaltending. Rittich plays the Oilers better than Talbot. Play him. Adopt the Panthers defensive style, and line everyone up at the blue line, forcing them to dump & chase. It can’t do any worse than what we’ve been shown to date.
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They broke it the same way every good team has broken it this season. The Kings forwards get stuck in the offensive zone while the Oilers d-men move the puck up the ice. It’s quite literally as simple as that.

You don’t have a 1-3-1 if there’s no 3 clogging the neutral zone.

The Kings feasted on teams who couldn’t move the puck out of their zone effectively. The Kings will be stuck in the black hole until they start playing defensemen who can move the puck.
 
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Clif said:
Again, really don’t care any more waking up this morning. Watching them last night reminded me of all the ways I don’t believe in this team.

That said, Kings can beat Skinner with traffic and if Hiller is serious he’ll start Rittich. I actually think Kings could still pull this out in an ugly back-and-forth series provided we get good games out of the D also. And they hit more last night than in the past which really will make an impact if they keep at it. Looked like they rattled Nurse and Kane both at times.

If Edmonton played like that against a good team they would have lost. McDavid’s 5 assists and Hyman’s hattrick aside, Kings gave them free entry all night. That doesn’t happen against NSH, even.
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I hate watching this Oilers team play. Not just because they’ve embarrassed the Kings for the last 3 seasons but because the style of hockey they play is somehow less entertaining than watching the Kings play a neutral zone trap.

They’re a 1 line team who feasts on the PP. It’s like watching a football team who runs the ball 3 downs then throws a Hail Mary on 4th down. It’s garbage and I will actively cheer for their demise.
 
DarkLeftHand said:
Just a hunch, he may be sick.. the pregame bench shot during the anthem, he was already in a mad sweat, and looked exhausted.
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Fiala's wife is due any time in May I believe with their first so I think that may be a bit on his mind.
 
Statue4Deano said:
I hate watching this Oilers team play. Not just because they’ve embarrassed the Kings for the last 3 seasons but because the style of hockey they play is somehow less entertaining than watching the Kings play a neutral zone trap.

They’re a 1 line team who feasts on the PP. It’s like watching a football team who runs the ball 3 downs then throws a Hail Mary on 4th down. It’s garbage and I will actively cheer for their demise.
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I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds them boring as dirt. The NHL's built their face around them the last however many years tho - the superstar power play - how exciting.

My biggest "confusion" is the line juggling and new lines. Also why was the Danault line getting worked so hard. And why can't our #1/2 PK prevent an Oilers PP goal. I think inserting Rittich and his quick stick immediately helps the PK - he is an amazing puck handler and poke checker. He can be trusted to stop those cross net passes by himself, Talbot let in at least an easy one last night that. That's the first important thing that's gotta change and probably wont. The Oil easily could have had another 3-5 goals last night with all the 2 on 1s and breakaways - our D just look tired. It was exactly as you say how they're penetrating the 1-3-1, we get it in their zone, it gets poked away, and off they f***in go. Need to get it in deep somehow, anyhow, because our D can't keep up.
 
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kIngsX said:
It’s about an acceptance of the fact the Oilers have learned to beat the 1-3-1. How many more games will it take to make that point? It’s time for Plan B, if there is one, starting with the goaltending. Rittich plays the Oilers better than Talbot. Play him. Adopt the Panthers defensive style, and line everyone up at the blue line, forcing them to dump & chase. It can’t do any worse than what we’ve been shown to date.
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I think the greater acceptance is that the Oilers built a team during the offseason and at the trade deadline while the Kings did not. Does anyone really expect a team that beat us last year and improved their team, to not beat us this year? I'm hoping we win at least one so Sunday isn't my last home game of the season. Let them lose the series on the road.
 
kIngsX said:
It’s about an acceptance of the fact the Oilers have learned to beat the 1-3-1. How many more games will it take to make that point? It’s time for Plan B, if there is one, starting with the goaltending. Rittich plays the Oilers better than Talbot. Play him. Adopt the Panthers defensive style, and line everyone up at the blue line, forcing them to dump & chase. It can’t do any worse than what we’ve been shown to date.
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Yep, I said before the series and the D-bag Oilers writer had an article a month ago or something pointing out that the Oilers have solved the 1-3-1. They may not like going against it but they've got the answers. The Kings were going to get beat by the Stars if we faced them. We're a playoff team but not a contender. The Korpi/Gavrikov trade consumed a lot of picks (and cap space with the Gavrikov extension) and the PLD trade was a step back in terms of roster depth and wasted cap space. This is pretty much last spring's team but with less depth due to Blake's bungling of the roster. I feel bad for guys like Doughty and Kempe and Danault who always give 100% but can't win it alone.
 
hokiecat said:
Yep, I said before the series and the D-bag Oilers writer had an article a month ago or something pointing out that the Oilers have solved the 1-3-1. They may not like going against it but they've got the answers. The Kings were going to get beat by the Stars if we faced them. We're a playoff team but not a contender. The Korpi/Gavrikov trade consumed a lot of picks (and cap space with the Gavrikov extension) and the PLD trade was a step back in terms of roster depth and wasted cap space. This is pretty much last spring's team but with less depth due to Blake's bungling of the roster. I feel bad for guys like Doughty and Kempe and Danault who always give 100% but can't win it alone.
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Unless there is some type of miracle revamp of the roster in the offseason OR guys like QB, Thomas, Turc, and PLD really turn it on, this team will be a mid-tier, maybe win one round of the playoffs team for the foreseeable future.
 
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