April 29, 2024 by Michael Hebert

Which is the most important game in a best of seven? In the Stanley Cup playoffs, game four in every series almost always holds the key to the series direction. It’s the game that could decide a sweep, or it’s the game that a team could hold on to their last remaining breath and avoid the sweep, or ultimately it’s the game that could decide if the series is close to done OR tied at 2. It’s easily argued as the most important game in any Stanley Cup playoff series.

So, it should come as no surprise, that the Los Angeles Kings came out flying last night in Los Angeles. The Kings were a powerhouse team in almost every area last night. They outshot the Edmonton Oilers 33 to 13. They outhit the Oilers 44 to 27. NaturalStatTrick.com had the high danger chances as 14 to 4 in the Kings favour. The eye test matched the metrics in every way, except for one. The Oilers ended up on the winning side by shutting out the Kings 1 – 0.
So how’d the Oilers get it done?

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Call Outs
Important to call out, the Edmonton Oilers killer instinct. They just didn’t have it last night in Los Angeles. The Kings came out flying from the start and the Oilers just couldn’t get anything going. They seemed to sit back right from the start. Hard to believe this was their ultimate game plan for game 4, so they’ll have to reach deep for game 5 and repay Stuart Skinner for the performance.

Related: Call Outs, Stand Outs, and Shout Outs – Game 3: Oilers Shine in Hollywood

Stand Outs
Stuart Skinner was far and away the best Oilers player last night. While the Oilers did a great job of keeping the Kings to the outside in the first two periods despite a large difference in zone play, Skinner was outstanding in the third period and kept the Oilers in the game and earned every part of his shutout. In fact, the Oilers netminder had a complete bounce back in Los Angeles versus his first two games and has been a key part of the Oilers success through 4 games.

The Oilers power play. The Oilers powerplay was still one of the best in the league this year during the regular season, but it didn’t have the same power that it did during the record breaking season last year. However, they’re back with a vengeance and moving the puck around completely different than they were in the regular season. They’ve scored almost every way on the power play during the first four games and they capitalized for the game winner on their only power play of the night. The Bouch bomb is back as a threat and it’s bringing the Oilers back home with a commanding 3 – 1 series lead.

Shout Outs
The Oilers PK deserves a shout out. While not overly tested last night, the PK did what it had to do to keep the Oilers ahead in the game and stayed perfect for the series.

What is missed in the one sidedness of a game like last night, is the Oilers ability to win a 1-0 game. The Oilers showed some resilience in every area last night. Players were getting back to the defensive zone. Players were taking responsible shifts. No player, including the final minute, was playing for their own glory, they rallied behind Skinner and they iced the shutout. If you’d asked anyone at any point during the season if the Oilers could win the type of 1 – 0 games you have to sometimes win in the playoffs, there’d be few people who would have said they could do it, but they just did and that deserves a shout out.

Join Michael and Dash on Oilerslive Wednesday nights at 5pm MT to discuss playoff hockey. You can listen live on Edmonton Sports Talk with iHeartRadio or Tune In. Alternatively you can join in the chat with the Heavy Hockey Network on YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), or Facebook.