The Kings’ (23-21-14) worst fears against their divisional rival came back to haunt them in a brutal fashion Thursday night. After entering this matchup following last night’s embarrassing loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, Los Angeles followed up with an absolute meltdown on defense, losing 8-1 to the Edmonton Oilers (29-23-8).
Edmonton scored twice in the first period and added three more in the second and third to further bury the Kings in the coffin in a very lopsided performance that exposed the Kings’ defensive breakdowns, puck battles, face-offs, and lollygagging on offense.
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First Period: Early Damage
The warning signs appeared immediately. Edmonton opened the scoring at 12:05 of the first when Ty Emberson finished the clean 3-on-2 rush, beating Darcy Kuemper high glove side to make it 1-0.
Just over a minute later, the Oilers notched in another goal, banking the shot off Kuemper’s arm and in for a 2-0 lead. The Kings were handed a power-play opportunity a few minutes later after Darnell Nurse was assessed the double minor for high-sticking Brian Dumoulin, drawing blood. It was a prime chance to build off that physical play.
Instead, LA failed to convert on the power-play, finishing the night 0/2, while the Oilers went 2/3. Los Angeles still managed to score in the period, despite several defensive lapses, when Joel Edmundson’s shot from the left side was deflected by Warren Foegle, which found its way through the net, cutting the deficit to 1 and ending the first period with the score 2-1.
Second Period: Game Slips Away
If the first period showed any hints of where this game was going, the second and third periods were even worse. In a span of six minutes, Edmonton scored three goals, extending their lead to 5-1 just like that. By the time the horn sounded and the second intermission ended, the boos were raining down in Crypto.com Arena.
The Kings defesnive zone coverage was disorganized, and breakouts were sloppy. Edmonton was taking advantage of all the defensive breakdowns by the Kings, outshooting LA 37-22 and controlling 66.7% of the faceoffs.
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Darcy Kuemper, who hasn’t played since Feb. 4, was awful tonight, the rust clearly evident, giving up four goals before being benched for Anton Forsberg, who also gave up four goals, both goaltenders combining to give up eight goals.
Third Period: Avalanche Continues
Any hope of ending the game with pride evaporated quickly. Leon Draisaitl scored 31 seconds into the third period, pushing the lead to 6-1, ending the night with his 30th goal of the season.
Jake Walman got on the action a few minutes later, striking twice in a span of two minutes to extend the lead to 8-1, further embarrassing the Kings in front of their home crowd.
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Overall, the Oilers stars were dominant, continuing to prove why they’re always going to be a problem against the Kings. Connor McDavid also had a great night, finishing with one goal, one assist, and two points, recording 100 points in just 60 games.
The Kings, meanwhile, unraveled and were already defeated by the time the second period ended. Los Angeles lost two players tonight to injury, including Joel Armia and Dew Doughty, but it didn’t matter because the scoreboard was already out of control.
Los Angeles clearly has a big issue with their defense; no matter how many forwards they acquire, it’s not gonna change a thing until they can improve their defensive line.
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A Concering Loss
This has arguably been the worst stretch the Kings have been on this season, and that’s saying a lot, considering how bad they’ve been this season. Coming out of the Olympic break, when they needed to build momentum against their divisional rivals, the Golden Knights and Oilers, playing both games at home, the Kings have so far given up 14 goals and are off to a terrible start to reach the playoffs.
If the Kings don’t regroup and focus defensively, their season can already be over in a week because of how much separation they’re now putting themselves into with these losses. Los Angeles will next play on Saturday at 7:00 pm EST against the Calgary Flames at Crypto.com Arena.
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