GDT: WCQF | II | "Sabotage" | Oilers @ Kings | 4.23.25 | Crypto.com Arena | 8:00PM | SN

[foshizzle]

Really weird lineup. Bet we see McDavid and Drai double shifted too. Team will be desperate tonight.

I don't really give a shit about all the narratives/lineup decisions. Game 1 was so fun until it wasn't. Let's get a big win tonight.

The fact Knob doesn’t even have lines yet, a whole season in, says a lot

 

[Oilers88]

Nah. Oilers did the right thing pressing McD at the moment Kings were tiring. Let the Kings punch themselves out. Nobody on the board remembers how Ali beat Foreman? Just rope a dope first half of game and then bring in the guns. LA really struggled with that first game. WE scored 5 goals in last 20.5mins of the game. We would have scored more except NHL kept throwing the Kings PP lifesavers. Kings were dead on their feet by 10mins into third period.

We went 17 minutes without a shot on goal- that's less Ali vs Foreman, and more Homer Simpson hoping the opponent will get tired from overpunching so we can nudge them over.

 

[Jet Walters]

Perry will get around 50% of the even strength time with McDavid and Draisaitl. They’ll rotate in Arvidsson, Hyman, or even Kane at times. Podkolzin will get some shifts with Nuge. The 3rd line might be the only one that stays together most of the game.

I bet Kane is chomping at the bit to inflict some damage on the forecheck. I see him being a major factor in this series by punishing the likes of Doughty/Clarke/Spence.

 

[K1984]

Perry will get around 50% of the even strength time with McDavid and Draisaitl. They’ll rotate in Arvidsson, Hyman, or even Kane at times. Podkolzin will get some shifts with Nuge. The 3rd line might be the only one that stays together most of the game.

I bet Kane is chomping at the bit to inflict some damage on the forecheck. I see him being a major factor in this series by punishing the likes of Doughty/Clarke/Spence.

One thing that Kane is great for is his bench presence. He is active, and is constantly prodding a low emotion low intensity group. His impact goes beyond his shifts.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

Release the Kane!

I like the lines even if not a fan of a McDavid Draisaitl stack line. A split is critical so roll The Stack Line ... though a while back I thought McDavid Draisaitl and Savoie could work to insert a high processor guy skill and enable more veteran skill deployed to help support lines.

I do like veteran Klingberg in the line-up. However that was with stretch drive games and conditioning. He might start 2RD but won't be surprised if his minutes are managed with a heavy top four ice-time and deployment of Nurse/Bouchard; Walman and Kulak pushing all pushing 20+ minutes.

This is a playoff heavy and deep balanced lineup. Looking at NHL Edge data it's very rare to see the Oilers 'lose' the zone time splits (LA 43.1% OZ to Edmonton 41.3% OZ and Dzone LA more efficient 38.4% vs Edmonton's 40.0%). Oil need to change that which will be The Stack Line driving to reverse: NHL EDGE Puck and Player Tracking Statistics - Comparisons

Oil need to keep the pucks away from their net with weakness in goal and goal suppression costly gaffs with getting the PK humming as the stabilized later in game 1. Will be a heavy game with Kane and Frederic but team can't take bad penalties.

 

[Louis Cypher]

Don't give these f***ing refs any excuse to call a penalty in the first 10 mins.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Don't give these f***ing refs any excuse to call a penalty in the first 10 mins.

I mean existing as Edmonton Oilers in LA is going to be tough to overcome lol.

 

[McBeastMode]

Another comment but could the NHL start to manage the length of their games? Game one was simply ridiculous. The game lasted over 3hrs without OT. Everything from long delays in review to longer commercial breaks to teams not even being ready to play after commercials. Was starting to resemble NBA time delays. Just ridiculous. Game should be concluded in under 2.5hrs and NHL used to do this. Now we have to donate much more time to watch these games in realtime. The timelength creep for ratings is really digging in. Been like this and getting worse since 4Nations cup

It's all about the money, pop up banners during the play, extended commercial breaks and the Stanley cup playoffs logo is not painted on the ice anymore, just digitally displayed for the first few minutes to make room for more advertising..

 

[ToeMcDrag83]

I have a question. Does Coffey decide the d pairings or does Knoblauch?

Not totally sure, but I imagine they collaborate.

 

[PositiveCashFlow]

well, this is the team they envisioned. Fast mobile undersized puck movers on the back and hard and heavy forecheckers on the front

 

[slaman]

Alright boys - let's see what you can do tonight! I'm so excited that Kane is back, which I hope sparks Frederic to start hitting as well.

Without Stetcher, our D is cooked... can't wait for Ekholm to be back.

 

[Drai Fi]

Honestly no matter what happens, I’m just f***ing amped to watch the two best players in the world play at 110% speed and continue to elevate their games to levels we didn’t think possible.

Playoff McDavid is the best player to ever touch ice, that 3rd period the other night was just ridiculous. Made one of the best defensive teams in hockey look like children. It’s ridiculous. And we have another guy who’s, you know, another top 5 playoff performer of all time, nothing crazy. We’re spoiled rotten.

I look forward to another masterclass from them tonight. I don’t think they’ll be denied in any form.

 

[tiger_80]

(Kings Lead Series 1-0)

Game Day: Wednesday April 23rd 2025
Game Time: 8:00 PM
Location: Crypto.com Arena
Broadcast: SN

-----

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS

GAME 1


-----

Leon Draisaitl - Connor McDavid - Corey Perry
Evander Kane - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Zack Hyman
Trent Frederic - Adam Henrique - Connor Brown
Vasily Podkolzin - Mattias Janmark - Viktor Arvidsson

Darnell Nurse - Evan Bouchard
Jake Walman - John Klingberg
Brett Kulak - Ty Emberson

Stuart Skinner

-----

Andrei Kuzmenko - Anze Kopitar - Adrian Kempe
Kevin Fiala - Quinton Byfield - Alex Laferriere
Warren Foegele - Phillip Danault - Trevor Moore
Jeff Malott - Samuel Helenius - Alex Turcotte

Mikey Anderson - Drew Doughty
Vadislav Gavrikov - Jordan Spence
Joel Edmundson - Brandt Clarke

Darcy Kuemper


-----

• Projected lineups based on last game's starting lineup.
• The Kings lead in the series, let's not wait for them to take a lead in game 2 before getting going.
• Just win.

That's a much better lineup. Make Mikey cry!

 

[tiger_80]

Kane is quite high on the depth chart. Maybe he's in a decent condition by now. Would be great from the point of view of the team morale if he scored today.

 

[bone]

Kane is quite high on the depth chart. Maybe he's in a decent condition by now. Would be great from the point of view of the team morale if he scored today.

It would be great on multiple levels. Gets him going and confident. Creates a very real option for top 6 scoring and puts a little bit of fear into LA that a guy that has lit them up at least once in the past is back and a guy they don't really have an answer for on their roster from an intimidation level unless Jeannot has a miracle recovery as Foegele ain't scaring Kane.

I doubt it happens, but it also wouldn't surprise me if it did as he'll be coming in high on adrenaline and ready to prove he's still a player. Provided his body is capable of doing it, he can be a factor.

 

[Stoneman89]

After going nuclear on them in the last period of game one, I fully expect the Kings to mug McDavid tonight. It will be up to the refs to do their job. I'm not expecting miracles.

 

[Lacaar]

Well it's not like game 1 was much of a surprise so I guess game 2 shouldn't be much of one.
They get it done.

Bounce back from Stu and Bouchard are the keys to the game imo.

They'll likely go down a couple early again, it's just who they are.

 

[tiger_80]

It would be great on multiple levels. Gets him going and confident. Creates a very real option for top 6 scoring and puts a little bit of fear into LA that a guy that has lit them up at least once in the past is back and a guy they don't really have an answer for on their roster from an intimidation level unless Jeannot has a miracle recovery as Foegele ain't scaring Kane.

I doubt it happens, but it also wouldn't surprise me if it did as he'll be coming in high on adrenaline and ready to prove he's still a player. Provided his body is capable of doing it, he can be a factor.

Kane strikes me as a player, which when he's on feeds on his own success, like he did a couple of years ago. The question is, of course, his health.

 

[tiger_80]

Well it's not like game 1 was much of a surprise so I guess game 2 shouldn't be much of one.
They get it done.

Bounce back from Stu and Bouchard are the keys to the game imo.

They'll likely go down a couple early again, it's just who they are.

They eliminated four goal deficit. A win today will put the team back into the series. A loss is not the end of the world, but it will very difficult to overcome the deficit.

 

[bone]

Kane strikes me as a player, which when he's on feeds on his own success, like he did a couple of years ago. The question is, of course, his health.

For sure. If he scores early in his return, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him have a multi goal game shortly thereafter.

 

[bone]

They eliminated four goal deficit. A win today will put the team back into the series. A loss is not the end of the world, but it will very difficult to overcome the deficit.

While I agree that it would be very difficult, they came within one goal of erasing a 3 game deficit against a much better Florida team. I truly believe this series will be out of reach until the team is down a couple goals in a game where LA could clinch it.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Kane needs to channel is energy correctly tonight, you know he's gonna be amped up

a split is a must and they're always better in Game2 for whatever reason

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Looks like the plan tonight is “hope line one scores a billion points while everyone else floats around and does nothing.”

Seen this movie before. That defense is ghastly without Ekholm.

 

[Oilhawks]

Knob's handling of the two Skinners is preposterous. For our sake, I hope it pays off tonight

 

[OfCorsiDid]

Fair post Jimmi. Objectively it wasn't a good game from J Skinner. One would have expected a whole lot more in his first playoff game than getting worked off pucks and on ice for 3GA. Arvid and Skinner are easy to play against. One of the reasons I railed against getting these players is getting smaller.

Also Janmark actually scored a goal, plays with pace, and is on pk. No way he's coming out. Personally I'd take Arvid out before Skinner but KK likes Arvid.

Why is this place more civil during the playoffs than the regular season hahaha