LOS ANGELES — The theory went something like this: Having faced Edmonton for two straight springs, nobody knew better how to defuse this explosive Oilers offence than the stingy, defence-bent Los Angeles Kings.
They were the Pacific Division’s Hurt Locker, equipped with the knowledge, the tools and the courage to neutralize the nuclear threat that is Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl before the clock hit zero.
In practice, however, it has played out in the inverse. The Oilers have gone off.
Three games into this series, Edmonton has scored in each of the nine periods — though not OT of Game 2 — for an NHL-high 17 goals (tied with Colorado).
The Oilers’ powerplay is running at a seven-for-14 pace, and Edmonton has successfully killed every one of the 10 powerplays that Los Angeles has earned.
And in the voices of the Kings on Sunday, you could hear the yielding echoes of a team on the Game 4 ledge. A familiar foil for whom the distance appears to be increasing — not shrinking — between them and their annual Round 1 rival.
“You look at their (top) two, three guys over there, 100-plus point (players),” said Kings winger Blake Lizotte. “We don’t even have a 90-point guy.”
“I’ve played the one-three-one for four years now,” he said. “That’s part of our identity, playing tight-checking and not gambling on scoring five or six. We’re not going to win many games when we give up four or five.
“Once the score gets up to five or six, with the skill level they have, it’s going to be tough for us to win games.”
Edmonton’s powerplay, retooled for this post-season with a few new tweaks not seen before, has buffaloed the Kings. They thought they had the blueprint, but as Sunday’s Game 4 approaches, the Kings are no longer sure which wire to snip.
What can’t the Kings figure out?
“It’s an array of things,” began the painfully honest Lizotte. “They have so many different options out of the same looking set. Where other teams may have one or two options, they have three or four. And they do it at a speed that is higher than your average powerplay. It’s been proven across the league… they’ve been pretty much the No. 1 powerplay.”
“You just can’t take penalties,” he concluded. “Fourteen powerplays in three games. You give those players that many chances, they’re going to score
