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Maybe it’s nothing serious.
Then again, maybe it’s the beginning of the end.
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Edmonton Oilers can't count on future playoff opponents making same hideous mistake as Los Angeles Kings – Edmonton Journal
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When did you first get a good feeling that the Edmonton Oilers would beat the Los Angeles Kings?
For me it was in the first game of the series, the moment I saw the Kings set up in their tight little formation on the penalty kill. Yes, Los Angeles had had the second best penalty kill in the entire NHL this regular season, a fact that was regularly trumpeted by commentators during the series.
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Such a formation had had great success against the vast majority of NHL opponents by taking away seam passes and inner slot shots.
But it’s passive, passive, passive, passive, passive.
And the Edmonton Oilers power play isn’t just any power play. It’s arguably the best in NHL history.
The L.A. approach to penalty killing gives all kinds of time and space along the boards for the attacking team to control and move the puck. You give Connor McDavid time and space to getting rolling in offensive zone, what do you think is going to happen?
Of course, such a strategy had worked for the Kings in the regular season. They had killed off 84.6 per cent of their opponent’s power plays, second only to Carolina’s 86.4 per cent, and better than Edmonton’s 15th-ranked 82.2 per cent.
No doubt, that had to give them confidence that they had cracked the code on shutting down the best attackers on opposing teams.
But as it stands now, the Edmonton Oilers just put on the single best net power play performance in NHL history, or at least since the late 1970s when the NHL started to track power play efficiency. Edmonton’s 45 per cent scoring net scoring rate was even better than their 43.6 net rate in 12 games last year against Las Vegas and these same Los Angeles Kings.
Edmonton scored on nine out of 20 power play against the Kings in their five games, and that’s if you don’t include the two power play goals in Game Five that came just seconds after Edmonton’s power plays ended and the penalized Kings player had just stepped back on the ice.
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If the Kings coaches had not been so wedded to the success of their passive approach, they might have dug into the video of recent Oilers games and saw how Dallas had effectively, even brutally, shut down the Oilers power play in Game 74 of the regular season. The Stars did not give the Oilers aces a second to breathe. They were on them with sticks and bodies, never giving Edmonton a chance to set up.
It’s not just Dallas that uses a far more aggressive system on the PK. The Oilers ran into more aggressive kills about one third of the time during the regular season. It always seemed to upset their flow and negatively impact their results.
When Edmonton comes up against Dallas or some other team that is more aggressive on the kill, the Oilers won’t so easily be able to run their favourite plays, continually getting the puck to McDavid on the move so he can dissect the opposition formation with brilliant passes.
How will Edmonton counter that? They’ve got likely the best combination of power play specialists in NHL history, players with great skill but also great offensive instincts and minds. They’ll figure something, but not likely so often as they did against the passive, passive, passive, passive, passive Kings.
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The New York Rangers took a stranglehold on the Carolina Hurricanes with a 3-0 lead in their second-round series thanks to a 3-2 overtime win on Thursday night.
It was an absolute heartbreaker for the Hurricanes, who tied things up with 1:36 to go in the third period, to the absolute delight of their raucous home crowd in Raleigh. But fewer than two minutes into overtime, Artemi Panarin deflected one in to give New York the win, sucking the air out of PNC Arena.
This is the seventh straight win for New York, who are perfect these playoffs after sweeping Washington in Round 1.
Carolina badly outshot New York for the third straight game, and got nothing in return for its efforts. Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin was again his team’s best player.
Here are our takeaways from New York’s incredible seventh straight playoff win:
Good start for the Canes, Guentzel heating up
This game felt promising for Carolina early on, and it was Jake Guentzel who gave the Hurricanes the 1-0 lead midway through the first, tipping in a Dmitry Orlov point shot.
The Caniac fans lost it and the smoke machines went off after that, and PNC Arena was rocking.
The 29-year-old Guentzel is heating up, as he’s been known to do this time of year, with three goals in the last two games. He now has 65 points in 65 career playoff games.
Bad blood
There was a bit of an on-ice rumble late in the first, and it resulted in four penalties — two for each team.
It started when Rangers centre Barclay Goodrow skated in hard and gave Hurricanes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov a poke on the glove, and that set everybody off. Jimmy Vesey went after Orlov. Goodrow starting yapping at the Hurricanes bench, who had plenty to say back. A bunch of skirmishes went on, and then Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Vesey threw their gloves down to fight, but the refs quickly broke that up.
During a TV timeout, Hurricanes defender Tony DeAngelo dropped his gloves while he was standing in front of his bench, yelling at a bunch of Rangers standing in front of their bench.
Tensions were high.
Big test for Kochetkov
After two straight losses to open this series, the Hurricanes opted to give Frederik Andersen a rest, and turned to Kochetkov.
It marked Kochetkov’s first game this post-season, and his second playoff start ever. The 24-year-old Russian netminder hadn’t started a game since April 14.
He wasn’t tested a whole lot early, but Kochetkov came up with some big saves in the game, including a beautiful poke-check on Filip Chytil, who returned to New York’s lineup after being out with an injury since January.
Kochetkov gave his team a chance to win on Thursday, and had 22 saves in the loss.
Shorty equalizer
As if the Hurricanes power play wasn’t woeful enough — 0-14 in this series so far — the Rangers tied things up in the second period while a man down.
Off a broken play, Mika Zibanejad picked up the puck off the boards and headed up the left wing, while Chris Kreider drove to the net like a rocket. Zibanejad hit him with a nice little saucer pass, which Kreider deflected off his backhand to beat Kochetkov five-hole.
Kreider then launched himself into the glass in celebration — a 32-inch vertical, as measured by Sportsnet’s Hockey Central panel. None of the Carolina fans in those front rows liked that jump one bit.
Kreider now has three goals in the last two games.
Quick release go-ahead goal
Panarin fought off a check and managed to shovel a backhand pass over to Alexis Lafreniere, and the 22-year-old got his wrist shot off immediately, firing it through the legs of the defender, and into the top corner, glove side, to give the Rangers their first lead in this game, 6:25 into the third.
It was Lafreniere’s third goal of the post-season, and he’s now riding a four-game point streak.
There were a few Rangers fans sitting in the front row, and they were all on their feet, and an amped-up Lafreniere skated over there during his celebration and yelled, “What’s up!” while he got hugs from his teammates.
What was up? The Rangers were, 2-1.
Svechnikov comes up huge
The game-tying goal came from just the guy you expected to pot it: Andrei Svechnikov.
The winger had been buzzing all game, creating opportunities with his size and speed and hands, and this one came after Carolina had pulled their goalie, with just 1:36 on the clock and fans on their feet.
Svechnikov pounced on a rebound in the slot and beat Svechnikov on the blocker side, sending those fans into an absolute tizzy and eventually sending this game into overtime.
Breadman the OT hero
Last game’s hero in double-OT, Vincent Trochek, picked up a rim around the boards and dished it over to Panarin, and with a quick deflection, that was that. This one was over just 1:43 into overtime.
Panarin ran on the ice, then pretended to kick a field goal just before his teammates covered him with hugs.
Game 4 is Saturday at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on Sportsnet at PNC Arena.
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PWHL Toronto forward Sarah Nurse defends the puck from PWHL Minnesota defender Sophie Jaques as PWHL Toronto takes on PWHL Minnesota in the inaugural playoff game at Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto on May 8.Sammy Kogan�/The Globe and Mail
For the top-seeded team from Toronto, the first playoff game in the Professional Women’s Hockey League was everything it could have asked for.
In front of a packed house of 8,473 on Wednesday night, Toronto pounded Minnesota 4-0 in the opening game of their best-of-five series – the initial glimpse of playoff hockey in this breakout new league.
Natalie Spooner etched her name in the history books for the second time this year, as the PWHL’s inaugural scoring champ scored the league’s first postseason goal. Toronto captain Blayre Turnbull had a two-goal night.
It was the league’s first game inside Coca-Cola Coliseum – a move prompted by big ticket demand in the city to see this team. Toronto had played its regular-season home games at 2,500-seat Mattamy Athletic Centre this season and sold out each one.
The PWHL says it has not yet made any decisions about where the Toronto team will play home games next season. But it’s hard to imagine a better audition for the franchise to play more often at Coca-Cola Coliseum, home of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, than Wednesday’s game. The crowd was engaged, dotted heavily with blue jerseys, families, and lots of young girls with handmade signs with message such as, “MY PWHL.” Tickets for the game – ranging from $32 to $117 – were hard to secure. Most, outside a few in standing room, sold out in minutes.
The Toronto team expected to pack the place, especially after selling out the NHL rink in town for one game earlier this year.
PWHL Toronto players celebrate forward Natalie Spooner’s first goal of the game.Sammy Kogan�/The Globe and Mail
“Having home crowds like that really helps calm the nerves,” said Turnbull. “We kind of knew what to expect, after our game at Scotiabank [Arena], and then having these games sell out just as quickly as that one did.”
The league is exploring getting Toronto PWHL into a bigger home rink next season, if even for some games. Teams had 12 home dates in the first season’s 24-game schedule, but that will grow to a 30-game schedule next season, with 15 dates at home.
Per a unique PWHL playoff rule, top-seeded Toronto got to pick its first-round opponent, either fourth-seeded Minnesota or third-seeded Boston. The team from the State of Hockey was determined to make Toronto pay for that choice, but in fact, in Game 1, Minnesota didn’t at all resemble the star-powered group they had been at times earlier this year.
The past few days had not been comfy for Minnesota. The team backed into the playoffs, not on its own win, but thanks to a loss by Ottawa on Sunday. That’s when Minnesota learned it qualified for the playoffs. Then Toronto had 24 hours to decide who to play, leaving the other three playoff teams swinging for a day, waiting to make travel plans. The PWHL’s teams travel commercially, so Minnesota left home bright and early Tuesday for Toronto.
Spooner opened the scoring midway through the first period, when the Canadian Olympic gold medalist floated in on the wing and fired a wrist shot past Minnesota goalie Nicole Hensley, nestling it just inside the post. It was the Scarborough native’s 21st of the season in Game No. 25.
The stadium DJ blared Toronto’s goal song, Lady Gaga’s Applause, by now synonymous with the PWHL’s top-scoring team. A sign from one fan celebrated the 33-year-old player who juggles a toddler son: “Spooner=Mom Power.”
Minutes later, after doing a quick on-bench interview, Spooner was back on the ice, pouncing on a mid-ice turnover and racing in for a breakaway with a defender clinging to her. Minnesota thwarted that chance and was tracking Spooner’s every step, but she wiggled loose to make things happen all night.
Emma Maltais scored Toronto’s second goal, early in the second period. Sarah Nurse carried it end to end then dished a pass to Maltais, who cajoled Hensley across her crease then tucked it in the five-hole.
Toronto captain Blayre Turnbull had a two-goal night.Sammy Kogan�/The Globe and Mail
Spooner set up Toronto’s third goal, delivering a pass across the mouth of the net to Turnbull, who directed it in. Turnbull added another goal in the third. Toronto’s firepower was too much.
“Anytime Spooner has the puck and she’s close to the net, she’s either putting an accurate shot where the goalie is not, or she’s making a hard pass to someone’s blade,” said Turnbull. “Snytime she has the puck in the ozone, you know, she’s a threat.”
Toronto used depth, looked like a team balanced, confident and sturdy enough to weather a playoff run. Even the 13th forward got decent minutes. No need to lean too heavily on stars just yet.
“The success of our team is in the variance,” said Toronto Coach Ryan.
Minnesota – a talented squad spotted with U.S. national team stars, from Kendall Coyne Schofield to Grace Zumwinkle and No. 1 draft pick Taylor Heise – had chances. It outshot Toronto 26-19, 11-4 in just the second period.
But Toronto goalie Kristen Campbell kicked away or absorbed Minnesota’s attempts, including a slapper by Zumwinkle at close range. As Toronto fans have all season, they reacted to Campbell’s saves by hollering SOUP!
Toronto’s league-leading penalty kill was staunch again, denying Minnesota some prime opportunities.
As it has all year, Toronto blared Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 after securing the win, a nod to the women who now make a living playing hockey.
Game 2 will take place Friday in Toronto before the series swings to Saint Paul, Minn.
Boston and Montreal will play Game 1 of the other semi-final series at Place Bell, an AHL rink that seats more than 10,000, on Thursday in Laval, Que. Game 2 in the Toronto series is Friday night.
The final two teams will battle for the Walter Cup later this month.
With the playoff audience tuned in on Wednesday, the PWHL released some data on its inaugural season: total attendance of 392,259 for its 72 games; more than 40 corporate sponsorships; one million social-media followers and 238 million total impressions; plus 100,000 subscribers to its YouTube channel, with viewers from 88 countries.
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In the most crucial times, with the game on the line, Vancouver was in charge. Just like they were in the regular season
Published May 09, 2024 • 4 minute read
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The picture is all kinds of blurry right now in the wake of Vancouver’s rousing 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their much-anticipated playoff series.
The Oilers said over and over again before this showdown started that their 0-4 regular season record against the Canucks didn’t mean a thing — that they are a very different team than the one Vancouver rag-dolled in October and November — and spent the first 35 minutes of Game 1 proving it.
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Their power play was clicking, their offence was cooking, they needed less than half a game to expose Vancouver’s rookie goalie and they had a commanding 4-1 lead on the road.
The universe was unfolding as it should.
Now, after a staggering four-goal collapse that had everyone who’s been watching the Oilers down the stretch and in the playoffs shaking their head in bewilderment, some unnerving thoughts are creeping into the discussion.
The Canucks, whose only hope was supposed to be a suffocating defensive posture, just beat the Oilers in a nine-goal game. They dominated play when it mattered most, they showed more composure, they got better goaltending, they scored the timely goals and they closed out the lead.
Consider that when it was 4-1 Edmonton with 6:49 to go in the second period, the Oilers had 14 shots on net. When it was 5-4 Vancouver with five minutes left in the game, the Oilers still had 14 shots.
In the most crucial times, with the game on the line, Vancouver was in charge. Just like they were in the regular season. And, suddenly, those four regular season victories are back on the table.
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Suddenly it’s fair to ask if maybe the Canucks didn’t post those early wins because the Oilers were in a funk during the first 11 games of the season, but maybe the Oilers were in a funk during the first 11 games of the season because they kept playing the Canucks.
That isn’t something the Oilers faithful even want to think about right now, much less believe, but at 5-0 this year the Canucks can fully argue that they have Edmonton’s number. Combine that with fact that teams winning Game 1 end up winning the series 68 per cent of the time and it gets spooky in a hurry.
And, if that wasn’t enough, the Canucks are starting to look like a team of destiny. They’re down to a third-string rookie goalie who closed out the last series with a shutout, they won a game with 12 shots on net, they won another one when they were losing 3-1 with 2:49 to play and now they turn 1-4 into 5-4 against the favoured Oilers in 17 wild minutes.
If you’re cheering for Edmonton, this is a lot to worry about.
Now, the Oilers were losing Game 1 of a playoff series when the Canucks were crossing their fingers at the draft lottery, so falling behind 1-0 to Vancouver isn’t going to rattle them.
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But, make no mistake about it, they are one game away from being rattled. If the Canucks give them more of the same in Game 2 and go 6-0 on the year and 2-0 in the series, it going to be a very serious problem.
Right now, this is the part where the Oilers are supposed to keep their calm and do what they did after Los Angles gave them a similar slap in Game 2 of round one. Edmonton lost that game 5-4, Stuart Skinner wasn’t good (three goals on seven first period shots) and the team needed a response.
They got it. And this team’s overall body of work (45-15-5 down the heart of their stretch drive and a complete and convincing five-game win over Los Angeles) suggests they’ll get it again.
Skinner still has some playoff demons to exorcise, but the way he fought back after losing Game 2 to the Kings has you believing Wednesday night is the exception to who he is in the post-season now, not the rule.
And they will almost certainly get a better game from their captain. Connor McDavid couldn’t get much of anything done in Game 1. He was limited to one secondary assist, zero shots on net and went 28 per cent in the faceoff circle.
And they will all be saying a silent prayer that whatever it was that kept Leon Draisaitl out for half of the second period and slowed him in the third won’t be a problem in Game 2.
One way or another, the picture comes a little more into focus Friday night.
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E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com
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