Kings’ missed opportunities lead to stunning Game 4 loss against Oilers

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EDMONTON — If the Los Angeles Kings drop yet another first-round playoff series to the Edmonton Oilers, one of the flashpoint moments will be Quinton Byfield’s failure to clear the puck out of the Kings’ zone late in Game 4 Sunday, a play that quickly evolved into another lost third-period lead and a stunning role reversal.

Byfield probably wants a do-over, even though his teammates and coaches rallied behind him. On the play, the Kings couldn’t keep Evan Bouchard from tying the game in a six-on-five situation; the Kings then lost, 4-3, on Leon Draisaitl’s power-play goal at 18:18 of overtime. It is a stinger of a loss and the Oilers now have the momentum in the series, which is tied at two as the teams head back to Los Angeles for Game 5 on Tuesday.

But the problem isn’t only the Byfield play, when Bouchard disrupted the young center’s chance to whittle away more of the final 45 seconds, eventually sending Rogers Place into hysterics with a bomb of a shot past Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper. The problem is the growing list of desired do-overs for the Kings in a series where they could have a commanding 3-1 lead at minimum and possibly a series sweep.

Center Phillip Danault rescued them in Game 1 with a final-minute goal after Edmonton erased a 5-2 deficit. The Kings dominated Game 2 and had Game 3 within their sights in the third period until Evander Kane tied the game with 6:42 left, then a disastrous lost challenge by Kings coach Jim Hiller opened the door for Bouchard to score on the resulting power play. And in Game 4, a brilliant first 40-minute effort was wasted.

The Oilers should get credit for their resilience, for not going gently into that good night. But the Kings are helping by fumbling their best chance to beat Edmonton over four springs.

For instance, they lapsed back into defending their lead too much. At one point, the Kings had a 28-15 shot advantage. By game’s end, it was 48-41 in Edmonton’s favor. Forward Warren Foegele correctly pointed out that if Kevin Fiala sinks a two-on-one rush with Byfield instead of hitting the post, the Kings are again working with a two-goal lead. Foegele lamented the bounces that didn’t go their way and maybe it would have been different.

“But we have to find a way to seal the deal,” Danault said. “It’s not only against Edmonton. You go to the next round, it’s the same thing. If you’re up 3-1, you got to seal the deal. You got to make those plays when it counts. It’s hard. It’s hard to win. Especially on the visitor’s side.”

It could have been different if Byfield had managed to get the puck past Bouchard and not only chip away at the dwindling clock but also force the Oilers to tag up and not be offside. And the Kings would have been deservedly rewarded for their efforts on plays like Foegele diving to break up a potential Edmonton break the other way, or Fiala hustling to keep Draisaitl from a scoring chance after the German superstar blocked his shot.

No, this loss isn’t all about Byfield failing to make a play at a crucial moment. And the Kings had his back afterward.

Quinton Byfield, left, looks for a loose puck during the third period. (Perry Nelson / Imagn Images)

“I’m not worried about that play one bit for Quinton. I’m proud of the 28 minutes he gave us tonight, how hard he played,” Hiller said. “And I know he’ll be ready to play the next game. You shake those things off. It doesn’t go your way every single time. You shake it off, you come back again. And he will.”

“He tried to make the right play. He tried to chip it out and their guy just somehow got a stick on it. It happens. It’s part of the game,” Foegele said. “He was trying to do the right thing. We told him, ‘Don’t worry about it.’ We tried to push in OT. I don’t know if that (a tripping call on Vladislav Gavrikov) was a penalty, but we’ll move on.”

As Foegele mentioned, there was some grousing over whether Gavrikov tripped Connor McDavid at 17:34 of overtime. And it felt like the inevitable was due to happen with Draisaitl netting his first NHL playoff OT winner. The Oilers mostly controlled the wild extra period, racking up 18 shots to the Kings’ seven.

Kuemper was fantastic in OT to keep the Kings afloat. That’s one positive. Given his Vezina Trophy-caliber season, he needs to be the better goaltender in this series, and you could argue he was better on Sunday. Seventeen of his 44 saves came in overtime. He even made an initial stretched-out stop on Corey Perry at his doorstep, but was prone and powerless to foil Draisaitl.

While the Kings had plenty of chances to bury the Oilers, they’re also grinding their players down. Hiller has made it clear that he’ll rely only on three forward lines and four defensemen to get the job done. Joel Edmundson played a game-high 36:16. Mikey Anderson played 34:14 while Drew Doughty clocked in at 32:57. Eight forwards, led by Byfield, logged 24 or more minutes.

Were they gassed by the time they reached overtime?

“It’s hard to say,” Danault said. “You have a big offensive machine. For sure, if you stay back for a while, it’s hard to attack after, so maybe that’s what it is. They just capitalize every chance they get.”

The Kings do have the comforts of home to look forward to. They’re already singing that tune, falling back on a franchise record 31-win run at home and victories in Games 1 and 2. But the two games in Edmonton presented missed moments that could prove monstrous if they don’t win Game 5.

Meanwhile, the Oilers have gotten healthier with each game and are working with the knowledge that no lead is insurmountable if they’re close in the third.

“That’s the mentality that we have, that we’re never going to quit no matter what,” Draisaitl said. “Obviously, we’ve shown that in the series so far. Maybe a little bit too much. We got to find a way to play with a lead. Play that type of game as well. We’re good at that as well and we need to prove that and show that.

“It shows a lot of character, and we can be really proud of that. But you don’t want to do that every night.”

Afterward, Hiller tried to strike a philosophical tone about the emotional toll of letting games get away.

“Well, you know, that’s the beauty of the game,” Hiller said. “That’s the beauty of working with professional athletes. They’re men. They’re young men, but they’re men. And they’ve got to go out — at home it’s easy. You got 20,000 people cheering you on. The road, you got 20,000 people getting after you. You’re fighting. And that’s why they’re playing at this level.

“They suck it up, they answer questions. They get a rest, and they get ready to go do it all over again. That’s the beauty of what we get to witness. They’re men. We’re professionals.”

But the plain-speaking Danault was asked the same question: Is there any sense of opportunities being missed?

“Little bit,” he said. “Little bit.”

Far more succinct. Also, correct.

(Top photo of the game-winning goal: Perry Nelson / Imagn Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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