Kings shutout by Stuart Skinner, Oilers in Game 4
The Kings are now on the cusp of being eliminated by Edmonton for the third consecutive season, with Game 5 in Edmonton on Wednesday.
LOS ANGELES –– The Kings checked almost all the boxes on Sunday night except for one vital item on their list: scoring a goal.
They fell, 1-0, to the Edmonton Oilers at Crypto.com Arena in a game during which they nearly tripled up Edmonton in shots on goal, took just one penalty and were very firmly on the right side of every barometer but the score as they descended into a 3-1 pit in their first-round series.
The Kings are now on the cusp of being eliminated by the Oilers for the third consecutive season, with Game 5 in Edmonton on Wednesday. They have eked out just one goal in the past 120 minutes of the series, across which Edmonton has scored seven times.
David Rittich made his first appearance of the series and largely lived up to his “Big Save Dave” moniker, stopping 12 of the 13 shots he faced. Edmonton’s 13 bids tied for the fewest in a playoff game in team history and set the franchise record for the fewest in a postseason victory.
Evan Bouchard scored a power-play goal that was assisted by Hart Trophy winners Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. While the Kings have equaled the Oilers’ 10 five-on-five goals in the series, they have been outscored 8-0 with the man advantage. Stuart Skinner earned his first career shutout, making 33 saves in the process.
“We didn’t get the win, that’s obviously frustrating. We’re frustrated with the result, not with the effort, but at this time of year I guess that doesn’t mean too much,” said Trevor Moore, the Kings’ leading goal-scorer during the regular season.
The Kings, who were the NHL’s best team on home ice from the All-Star break onward, lost both playoff dates in their own arena this spring and six of eight at home to Edmonton in the playoffs since 2022.
“Coming in and taking two here, and having an opportunity to go home [and clinch], it’s a good feeling. It’s not an easy building to play in, let alone get a win here,” Edmonton winger and former Duck Corey Perry said. “We found a way the last two games.”
In consecutive summers, the Kings made intrepid forays into the trade market, acquiring and signing to hefty long-term contracts Kevin Fiala and Pierre-Luc Dubois. Those two marquee pickups and Moore have combined for just three points, all goals, in the series. Kings interim coach Jim Hiller said he was satisfied across the board Sunday.
“I don’t think we had a guy tonight that didn’t play well, we just didn’t score,” Hiller said.
The closing stanza saw the Kings open up their game and even earn a power play, albeit one on which they managed zero shots on net. For every puck that did reach Skinner –– who said he “grew as a teammate, as a player and as a person” in his second pro campaign –– the Oilers’ sophomore netminder had an answer.
“In the last five minutes of the third, that’s where (the frustration) kicked in,” Phillip Danault said.
At the second intermission, the Kings had the Oilers’ shot total, dominating in terms of possession time and shot quality alike. Yet they trailed by the game’s only goal.
The middle frame was hermetically sealed early with neither team generating much offense but scant even-strength opportunities gave way to the game’s first power play when Andreas Englund’s holding penalty sent the Oilers’ skill players over the boards.
Draisaitl and McDavid worked to set up a bomb from the blue line by Bouchard that made it 1-0 for Edmonton 11:49 into the period. McDavid weaved into the slot, dishing to Draisaitl at the right faceoff dot, where he typically launches a sharp-angle one-timer. Instead, he one-touched the puck to Bouchard for a slapshot from above the right circle and his first goal of the series.
The Kings played their best 20 minutes of the playoffs to open Sunday’s match, displaying greater energy and competitiveness while avoiding the penalty box and dictating substantial stretches of play. They’d enter the dressing room just as they exited it, however, tied at zero.
What they did establish was a physical edge, out-hitting the Oilers by double digits in a period during which they also out-possessed them. Drew Doughty was particularly active, sending McDavid to the ice after his dazzling zone entry and later crunching Zach Hyman into the left-wing boards, as Hyman was held goalless for the first time in the series.
Yet it was the Kings licking their wounds when the final horn sounded, now needing to win three consecutive games to stave off another extended summer.
Danault faced this situation with the Canadiens in 2021, who fell down 3-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round. Three games later, Danault was assisting on the empty-net goal that sealed a series that ultimately sent the Habs all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
“It happened to me, too, down 1-3 in Montreal, and we came back. So, we’ve got to believe,” Danault said.