They say you aren&#8217;t in trouble until you lose at home.
If the Oilers bring the same level of play in Game 3 in Edmonton on Friday that they did in <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-blown-out-los-angeles-kings-game-2-goaltending-concerns-special-teams-disaster">Games 1 and 2</a> in Los Angeles this week, they&#8217;re definitely going to be in trouble.

The Kings battled hard down the stretch to pull into second place in the Pacific Division and earn themselves home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. This is the first time in four consecutive playoff meetings between the Oilers and Kings that L.A. has been the home team and they weren&#8217;t going to give it up easily.
Game 1 saw the Kings nearly blow a 4-0 lead. The Oilers knotted the score at 5-5 in the third period only to give it back moments later. <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/instant-reaction-kings-hammer-oilers-take-2-0-series-lead">Game 2</a> didn&#8217;t have the same sort of drama. The Kings jumped out to an early lead, the Oilers pushed back, and the home side buried them in the third period.
Through two games, the Kings have outscored the Oilers 12-to-7 in total. The five-goal difference between the two teams has all come on special teams. Edmonton hasn&#8217;t scored on five power-play opportunities while the Kings have gone 5-for-10.
Last year, the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/combinations">Oilers</a> dominated the special teams battle and cruised past the Kings in five games. If Edmonton can&#8217;t get their game sorted out quickly, they&#8217;ll be on the opposite side this time.
<h2>What they said&#8230;</h2>
<a href="https://x.com/EdmontonOilers/status/1915274267585069436">Leon Draisaitl</a> on what the Oilers need to do differently&#8230; 
<blockquote>&#8220;We&#8217;ve got to dig in and we&#8217;ve got to be better. This group has a lot of character in here. So we&#8217;ll regroup, let this one go and go back home and try to bring our best game.&#8221;
&#8220;They&#8217;re just winning (the special teams battle) battle right now. That&#8217;s really all it is. They&#8217;re beating us in that department, so we&#8217;ve got to fix some things and be better when the next one comes.&#8221;
&#8220;The first game we created lots of looks (on the power play) that probably could have ended up in some goals. We haven&#8217;t, there&#8217;s no going around that. We just have to cash in. We&#8217;ve got to dig in a little deeper and execute.&#8221;</blockquote>
<a href="https://x.com/EdmontonOilers/status/1915274366750998760">Darnell Nurse</a> on the Oilers needing to improve their defensive game&#8230; 
<blockquote>&#8220;It&#8217;s just the details to our game. Whether it&#8217;s sticks or finding lanes, we haven&#8217;t been good enough on the kill. Each of us knows that individually, starting with myself, we&#8217;ve gotta be better.&#8221;
&#8220;We&#8217;ve been hanging our goalie out to dry on quite a few occasions. He&#8217;s actually made some huge stops for us in a timely manner. So we&#8217;ve got better all around.&#8221;</blockquote>
Head coach <a href="https://x.com/EdmontonOilers/status/1915277291678294150">Kris Knobluach</a> on the special teams battle&#8230;
<blockquote>&#8220;If we have to have an opportunity to turn this thing around, it&#8217;s special teams. But you look at the goals against, there are certain things that we can do better. Not that we have to change our system, but we just need to elevate our play – mostly when we&#8217;re on the kill.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;ve seen the majority of this team face difficult situations, a lot more difficult than it is right now. We had two elimination games against Vancouver. We had four elimination games against Florida. There&#8217;s absolutely no quit with this group, so while it&#8217;s not an ideal position being down two games, there&#8217;s certainly no panic, especially from what I&#8217;ve seen from the majority of this group.&#8221;</blockquote>
Los Angeles coach <a href="https://lakingsinsider.com/2025/04/23/final-kings-6-oilers-2-kempe-anderson-clarke-foegele-hiller/">Jim Hiller</a> on the team&#8217;s play through two games&#8230;
<blockquote>&#8220;For those who follow us, the local media, we’ve had a pretty good season, and really, in the second half of the season, I think we really started to get our footing. We like the additions to the team. I think there was a priority on probably some size and maybe a little bit grittier players, stronger players added into the mix this year by our general manager. I think the regular season probably went as well as it did based on that. That’s a little bit more a playoff style of hockey. So I think we’ve just carried it over. I think we established it in the regular season and carried it into the playoffs.&#8221;</blockquote>
<a href="https://lakingsinsider.com/2025/04/23/final-kings-6-oilers-2-kempe-anderson-clarke-foegele-hiller/">Warren Foegele</a> on the Kings taking care of business at home&#8230;
<blockquote>&#8220;I think we’re just sticking to the plan. We’re being even keeled up there and when we get our opportunities, we’re capitalizing on them. Guys have got to keep doing that. Keep getting pucks on net and keep sticking to the plan.
&#8220;(Playing on home ice) has been huge all year for us. We love playing in this building, we love playing in front of our fans. I don’t really know how to describe it, but it’s just a feeling. We really enjoy playing here.&#8221;</blockquote>
<h2>Up next&#8230;</h2>
The series will shift to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4 on <a href="https://oilersnation.com/schedule">Friday and Sunday</a>. The Oilers need to bring a full 60-minute effort in both games to avoid going back to Los Angeles down 3-1 and on the verge of elimination.
<hr />
<h2><a href="http://LitcoLaw.com">Presented by Litco Law</a></h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-173686" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2099/02/LitcoLaw_Logo_Original-1-1024x161.png" alt="" width="1024" height="161" srcset="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2099/02/LitcoLaw_Logo_Original-1-1024x161.png 1024w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2099/02/LitcoLaw_Logo_Original-1-300x47.png 300w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2099/02/LitcoLaw_Logo_Original-1-768x121.png 768w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2099/02/LitcoLaw_Logo_Original-1-1536x242.png 1536w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2099/02/LitcoLaw_Logo_Original-1.png 1650w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Litco Law has been serving Edmontonians and all of Alberta for over 50 years. A family-owned and operated company, their purpose is to balance the power for people who find themselves having to navigate the complex legal system. They can help with personal injury claims (like car accidents), employment matters (such as wrongful dismissal or severance package reviews), or if you’ve been denied long-term disability benefits. Litco Law is known for being experienced, responsive, and genuinely caring. You might not believe Lawyers You’ll Love™ exist—but they do. To learn more or book a free consultation, visit LitcoLaw.com.

They say you aren't in trouble until you lose at home.

If the Oilers bring the same level of play in Game 3 in Edmonton on Friday that they did in <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/edmonton-oilers-blown-out-los-angeles-kings-game-2-goaltending-concerns-special-teams-disaster">Games 1 and 2</a> in Los Angeles this week, they're definitely going to be in trouble.



The Kings battled hard down the stretch to pull into second place in the Pacific Division and earn themselves home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. This is the first time in four consecutive playoff meetings between the Oilers and Kings that L.A. has been the home team and they weren't going to give it up easily.

Game 1 saw the Kings nearly blow a 4-0 lead. The Oilers knotted the score at 5-5 in the third period only to give it back moments later. <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/instant-reaction-kings-hammer-oilers-take-2-0-series-lead">Game 2</a> didn't have the same sort of drama. The Kings jumped out to an early lead, the Oilers pushed back, and the home side buried them in the third period.

Through two games, the Kings have outscored the Oilers 12-to-7 in total. The five-goal difference between the two teams has all come on special teams. Edmonton hasn't scored on five power-play opportunities while the Kings have gone 5-for-10.

Last year, the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/combinations">Oilers</a> dominated the special teams battle and cruised past the Kings in five games. If Edmonton can't get their game sorted out quickly, they'll be on the opposite side this time.
<h2>What they said...</h2>
<a href="https://x.com/EdmontonOilers/status/1915274267585069436">Leon Draisaitl</a> on what the Oilers need to do differently... 
<blockquote>"We've got to dig in and we've got to be better. This group has a lot of character in here. So we'll regroup, let this one go and go back home and try to bring our best game."

"They're just winning (the special teams battle) battle right now. That's really all it is. They're beating us in that department, so we've got to fix some things and be better when the next one comes."

"The first game we created lots of looks (on the power play) that probably could have ended up in some goals. We haven't, there's no going around that. We just have to cash in. We've got to dig in a little deeper and execute."</blockquote>
<a href="https://x.com/EdmontonOilers/status/1915274366750998760">Darnell Nurse</a> on the Oilers needing to improve their defensive game... 
<blockquote>"It's just the details to our game. Whether it's sticks or finding lanes, we haven't been good enough on the kill. Each of us knows that individually, starting with myself, we've gotta be better."

"We've been hanging our goalie out to dry on quite a few occasions. He's actually made some huge stops for us in a timely manner. So we've got better all around."</blockquote>
Head coach <a href="https://x.com/EdmontonOilers/status/1915277291678294150">Kris Knobluach</a> on the special teams battle...
<blockquote>"If we have to have an opportunity to turn this thing around, it's special teams. But you look at the goals against, there are certain things that we can do better. Not that we have to change our system, but we just need to elevate our play – mostly when we're on the kill."

"I've seen the majority of this team face difficult situations, a lot more difficult than it is right now. We had two elimination games against Vancouver. We had four elimination games against Florida. There's absolutely no quit with this group, so while it's not an ideal position being down two games, there's certainly no panic, especially from what I've seen from the majority of this group."</blockquote>
Los Angeles coach <a href="https://lakingsinsider.com/2025/04/23/final-kings-6-oilers-2-kempe-anderson-clarke-foegele-hiller/">Jim Hiller</a> on the team's play through two games...
<blockquote>"For those who follow us, the local media, we’ve had a pretty good season, and really, in the second half of the season, I think we really started to get our footing. We like the additions to the team. I think there was a priority on probably some size and maybe a little bit grittier players, stronger players added into the mix this year by our general manager. I think the regular season probably went as well as it did based on that. That’s a little bit more a playoff style of hockey. So I think we’ve just carried it over. I think we established it in the regular season and carried it into the playoffs."</blockquote>
<a href="https://lakingsinsider.com/2025/04/23/final-kings-6-oilers-2-kempe-anderson-clarke-foegele-hiller/">Warren Foegele</a> on the Kings taking care of business at home...
<blockquote>"I think we’re just sticking to the plan. We’re being even keeled up there and when we get our opportunities, we’re capitalizing on them. Guys have got to keep doing that. Keep getting pucks on net and keep sticking to the plan.

"(Playing on home ice) has been huge all year for us. We love playing in this building, we love playing in front of our fans. I don’t really know how to describe it, but it’s just a feeling. We really enjoy playing here."</blockquote>
<h2>Up next...</h2>
The series will shift to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4 on <a href="https://oilersnation.com/schedule">Friday and Sunday</a>. The Oilers need to bring a full 60-minute effort in both games to avoid going back to Los Angeles down 3-1 and on the verge of elimination.

<hr />

<h2><a href="http://LitcoLaw.com">Presented by Litco Law</a></h2>
<img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-173686" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2099/02/LitcoLaw_Logo_Original-1-1024x161.png" alt="" width="1024" height="161" />
Litco Law has been serving Edmontonians and all of Alberta for over 50 years. A family-owned and operated company, their purpose is to balance the power for people who find themselves having to navigate the complex legal system. They can help with personal injury claims (like car accidents), employment matters (such as wrongful dismissal or severance package reviews), or if you’ve been denied long-term disability benefits. Litco Law is known for being experienced, responsive, and genuinely caring. You might not believe Lawyers You’ll Love™ exist—but they do. To learn more or book a free consultation, visit LitcoLaw.com.

The Day After +2.0: Oilers quickly have little room for error after dropping two games in L.A.

Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner

Fans react to Oilers pulling goaltender Stuart Skinner in Game 2 loss to Kings

Los Angeles Kings Drew Doughty celebrates goal Edmonton Oilers

Oilers blown out by Kings in Game 2, the goaltending concerns get louder, and the special teams disaster

Instant Reaction +2.0: Kings hammer Oilers 6-2, take 2-0 series lead

Better Lait Than Never - Oilers need players to step up

Recent articles from Cam Lewis

Breaking News