Kings need to shut down the Oilers' offence to win the series
The Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers are preparing for Game 4 of their first-round series tonight. The Kings want to bounce back and tie the series at two games apiece.
To do that, they must stop the Oilers' high-flying offence. The Kings' defence has been overworked and unable to match the skill of Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman, and Leon Draisaitl.
The Kings will need more out of the second and third pairings. The Oilers have outscored the Kings 17-10 through three games. While this doesn't appear to be too bad, when you look at how much of an impact Edmonton's top stars have had on this series, it looks bad for the Kings.
If Los Angeles can bounce back and tie the series at 2-2 before it returns to Edmonton for Game 5.
However, if they can't and drop Game 4, the Oilers will take a 3-1 stranglehold on the series. This will mean the Kings will be pushed to the brink and will face elimination for the first time in Game 5.
LA's stars need to show up and lead the charge like they did in Game 2. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case for the entire series, which will need to change if they want to make it past the first round.
Game 5 is set for May 1, but the time hasn't been determined yet.