Image Credit: Eric Poole / @Epoole88
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Series: Oilers Lead 3-2
Game Day: April 29, 2023
Start Time: 8:00PM MT
TV: SN / Radio: 630 CHED
Location: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles CA
The Series:
Game 1 - Kings 4 Oilers 3 OT Highlights
Game 2 - Kings 2 Oilers 3 Highlights
Game 3 - Oilers 2 Kings 3 OT Highlights
Game 4 - Oilers 5 Kings 4 OT Highlights
Game 5 - Kings 3 Oilers 6 @ Highlights
Game 6 - Saturday April 29th @ 8PM MT
Game 7 - Monday May 1st @ TBD
Super extended Practice time is almost over... LFG!
Line ups:
Oilers:
(From Game 5)
Evander Kane - Connor McDavid - Leon Draisaitl
Zach Hyman - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Nick Bjugstad
Warren Foegele - Ryan McLeod - Derek Ryan
Klim Kostin - (Jay's Choice From above) - Kailer Yamamoto
Mattias Ekholm - Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse - Cody Ceci
Brett Kulak - Vinny Desharnais
Philip Broberg
Stuart Skinner
Kings:
(Credit - @5 Mins 4 Ftg )
Viktor Arvidsson - Anze Kopitar - Adrian Kempe
Trevor Moore - Philip Danault - Alex Iafallo
Quinton Byfield - Gabe Vilardi - Kevin Fiala
Blake Lizotte - Carl Grundstrom - Rasmus Kupari
Mikey Anderson - Drew Doughty
Vladislav Gavrikov - Matt Roy
Alex Edler - Sean Durzi
Joonas Korpisalo
Preview:
(Via Oilers.com)
OILERS vs. KINGS
STREAM: 8:00 p.m. MT; televised on Sportsnet West
Oilers Team Scope
The Oilers have the first of two chances on Saturday night to close out their first round series and eliminate the Los Angeles Kings from the playoffs for a second straight year.
Last year, it was the Kings who were in the Oilers position -- up 3-2 in the series with a chance to eliminate their opponent in Game 6. Edmonton rallied with back-to-back victories to advance to the second round and eventually made their way to the Western Conference final.
The Oilers have witnessed what can happen if you don't close out a team and their focus lies on playing their best game of the series on Saturday in Los Angeles.
"I think where our focus lies is on making sure that we bring our best game of the series here in game number six," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said "We understand what the challenge is, we understand where we're playing the game, we understand the strengths of the other team, but in the end, we think if we bring our best game we're a tough team to beat."
Edmonton took the 3-2 matchup advantage courtesy of a stellar performance at home in Game 5. The Oilers offence continued their offensive breakthrough against the Kings, scoring six times in the game and chasing Joonas Korpisalo from the crease.
Nick Bjugstad scored twice for the Blue & Orange while Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Brett Kulak, and Evander Kane notched the rest of the offence in the six-goal performance. In net, Stuart Skinner rebounded from his Game 4 setback that saw the 24-year-old rookie pulled after allowing three first period goals. The Edmonton product turned aside 25 of 28 Kings attempts to pick up the win and set the stage for Saturday's elimination game.
Kings Team Scope
The Kings have had a few days off to prepare as they look to flip last year's script on the Oilers.
Los Angeles has shown they can be a persistent group all series, continuously finding ways to come back from deficits like they did in Game 1, 2, and 3 -- while nearly coming back from a three goal first period disadvantage in Game 5.
"It was overwhelming early in the game, but when we made it 3-2 we had an opportunity to get back in," Kings Head Coach Todd McLellan said after the loss. "That fourth one really hurt us, and then from there, there was no catching up. That obviously wasn't good enough, it wasn't close to good enough. It probably doesn't get you a win in Game 2 of the regular season. So, move on. We have to bring our best to Game 6 to even have an opportunity at the series. And I'm confident our group can do that."
Adrian Kempe continued his excellent performance in the series, scoring his fourth goal and adding assist to push his post season point total to seven. Alex Iafallo notches his third goal of the first round and Quentin Byfield scored his first late in the game to cap off the Kings Game 5 offence at Rogers Place.
The biggest story of the game was Joonas Korpisalo, who was pulled by coach McLellan in the second period after allowing four goals on 19 Oilers shots. He was replaced by Pheonix Copley who stopped six of eight Edmonton attempts in relief. Los Angeles had held the Oilers to just 10 goals in the first three games of their first round matchup, but the Blue & Orange's offence has marked the Kings for 11-goals against in the last two games.
With the Kings playoff lives on the line and a loud Crypto.com Arena crowd, the Oilers know that the Kings will put the last two games behind them and give the visiting Oil all they can handle.
"Obviously, they're going to have a huge push. You expect them to have the best game of the series so far," Darnell Nurse said. "So for us, we have got to match that same intensity and the same push on our end. It's important to go in there with a focus, just worrying about one game and taking care of what we can take care of tomorrow, so that's a singular focus for us."
By The Numbers
Through five games, the Oilers have outscored the Kings 20-16 with a 186-157 shot advantage and an 85-69 high-danger chances for advantage... Edmonton's power play is currently operating at 57.1 per cent, leading all NHL Playoff teams... The Oilers also have the advantage at the faceoff circle, operating at 53.8 per cent... The Oilers have led or been tied for 84.2 per cent of the series, trailing only 51:09 in five games...
Edmonton is 14-8 all-time in Game 6's and are 6-2 while on the road... The Oilers have lost only once in 13 series when leading a series 3-2 and are 5-0 when they begin those series on home ice... Edmonton's only series loss when leading 3-2 came in 1989 when they lost three straight games to the Kings... Edmonton has scored a power-play goal in all five games this postseason... The Oilers are 15-for-33 on the man advantage against the Kings since the start of last year's postseason...
Edmonton has won eight of their last nine road games spanning back to March 18 and have outscored their opponents by a 39-23 margin... Mattias Janmark leads the Oilers in points in series-clinching games with nine (3G, 6A) in 12 games... Leon Draisaitl is second with six points in four games (1G, 5A)... Brett Kulak and Warren Foegele have never lost a series-clinching game, both sporting a perfect 5-0 record... With a point in Game 6, Leon Draisaitl would become the third-fastest player in postseason history to record 70 points, trailing only Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky... Evan Bouchard is just the second Oilers defenceman to record eight points in a single playoff series, with Paul Coffey achieving the feat four times...
Injury Report
OILERS - Mattias Janmark (foot) is day-to-day.
KINGS - Blake Lizotte (lower body) is day-to-day.
-- Michael Arcuri, EdmontonOilers.com
