The LA Kings settled into their game much more in Game 2 than in the playoff opener against the Edmonton Oilers.
In the second game, per Natural Stat Trick, the Kings held the edge in shot attempts (51.9% CF%) and were pretty even in xGF% (49.7%) while Edmonton had the edge in Scoring Chances (57.7%) and High Danger Chances (63.6%). That’s something LA is going to have to try to live with against the high-powered Oilers.
There shouldn’t be an expectation that the Kings will spend extended time in the Edmonton zone hemming in the Oilers, rather the chances for LA are most likely to come off the rush.
Looking back at the regular season this is where LA was best:
Conversely, if there was an area where Edmonton could be exploited, it was off the rush.
In Game 1, Natural Stat Trick had the Kings with just one Rush Attempt. While it wasn’t graded as one, Viktor Arvidsson‘s missed breakaway was probably the closest chance they got in terms of transition offense. The goals LA did score, were almost all fluky in nature. Mikey Anderson’s half-slapper found its way through traffic past Skinner while Adrian Kempe‘s pass attempt went off Evan Bouchard‘s skate into the net. In the third period of that game, Pierre-Luc Dubois‘ shot attempt hit not just one, but two Oilers’ defensemen before making its way over the goal line. The Kings then took advantage of Cody Ceci‘s stick exploding on him for their fourth goal.
Hey, they all count, especially in the playoffs, but if we’re being honest this was as much bad puck luck for Edmonton as anything.
Game 2, however, was a different story. Kempe’s first goal wasn’t directly off a rush, but the entry into the zone was off a stretch play and his scoring opportunity came off the Kings creating a turnover and transitioning to a quick-strike offense.
Kempe’s second goal was one for the highlight reels, but look how this develops. Kempe picks up the puck in his own zone and the Kings are off and running in transition.
The third goal was again more of what we see from LA. Create a turnover in the defensive zone, throw the puck to the neutral zone, and find a streaking Drew Doughty for a breakaway:
Then, of course, Anze Kopitar‘s game-winner in overtime:
This one had a slightly different wrinkle in that we saw a skilled play from an LA defenseman. Jordan Spence has a forechecker on him and most of the time we see a Kings’ defenseman just throw this puck into the neutral zone and hope for the best. Not Spence. He curls back, creates time and space, and moves the puck over to his partner, Mikey Anderson whose stretch play finds Quinton Byfield before ending up on the captain’s stick.
If the LA Kings are going to score goals in this series at 5-on-5 they’re most likely to come off the rush. LA has struggled most of this season, especially under Jim Hiller, creating high-danger scoring chances. Not to mention, Edmonton is underrated at defending them (6th best in the NHL in HDCA/60 per Natural Stat Trick) so this isn’t likely to be how the Kings find the back of the net. Point shots, like what we saw from Anderson, are not a high-percentage play in the NHL these days so take them when they come.
We’ll see if LA’s rush success from Game 2 will continue on home ice.
Main Photo Credit: Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP
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