EDMONTON – Oh, how the turn tables…
A lot can change in a best-of-seven series.
The Edmonton Oilers were backed into a corner early, going down 2-0 in their first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings. And then they scratched and clawed their way back to a 2-2 tie.
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Game 5 is scheduled for Tuesday night. To say that it’s a big game for both clubs is a great understatement. Going up 3-2 gives your team an obvious leg up on the other team.
It also breeds desperation.
However, one thing has put the odds more in the Oilers' favor. It will tip the scales more in that direction the longer the series goes.
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The Kings Are Playing With Less
The Kings have massively shortened their bench. To the point where they exclusively relied on nine forwards and four defenders for a large chunk of Game 4.
Trevor Lewis, Jeff Malot, and Samuel Helenius all played approximately five minutes or less. Lewis registered 5:19 of ice time. The forward with the next lowest ice time was Andrei Kuzmenko with 19:38.
It was an even more drastic drop off with the defenders. Jacob Moverare played 2:26 while Brandt Clarke played 11:58. The four top defenders played between 31-36 minutes for the Kings.
However, this trend isn’t isolated to Game 4, it is simply the most drastic trend for Game 4.
Oilers Are Doing More With More
On the flip side, the Oilers are making more things happen with more of their roster involved.
The Oilers had five forwards with more ice time than Lewis (5:19) but less ice time than Kuzmenko (19:38). They also ran five defenders instead of four, with Ty Emberson being the only defender to play less than 25 minutes.
That will only benefit them as the series progresses. The Oilers now have a responsibility to finish every single check on the forecheck. They need to make things as physically challenging for the Kings as possible.
This will wear the Kings down, allowing the Oilers to then punish them by using their speed to attack, creating the wrong kind of desperation that, in theory, should create more scoring chances and potentially more penalties from the Kings as they try to slow them down.
The Oilers will look to get a leg up on the Kings with Game 5 on tap for Tuesday, April 29th, at 8:00 PM Mountain Time.
It’s clobberin’ time.
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