April 30, 2025 by Ryan Lotsberg

The Edmonton Oilers outshot the Los Angeles Kings by a total of 33-13 in the third period and overtime of Game 4. The Oilers’ dominance of the shot clock carried over into Game 5. The shots were 19-4 in favour of the Oilers after a period, and they finished at 46-22. Despite all that, Andrei Kuzmenko got the Kings on the board first; but the Oilers scored three straight goals to take Game 5 by a score of 3-1. Darcy Kuemper was the first star of the game in my eyes because he kept the Kings in the game until the bitter end with an outstanding performance.

Callouts

It’s tough to find many complaints about the Oilers’ performance in Game 5; but if I had to pick one, it would be finishing. The Oilers generated an astonishing twenty-eight high danger scoring chances according to Natural Stat Trick. They only capitalized on one of those chances. Kuemper was unbelievable, but finishing has been an issue for the Oilers all season long.

Standouts

Evander Kane scored another goal in Game 5. He had five shots on goal and four hits. He was also consistently involved in scrums all night long, including a situation where Vladislav Gavrikov was digging away at Connor McDavid along the boards near the end of the first period. Kane is contributing in a positive way in this series upon returning from his injury, which is a boost to the Oilers lineup.

Shoutouts

Mattias Janmark scored his second goal of the playoffs. This after only scoring two goals all season. Janmark was +3 on the night and had three shots and two hits as well.

Zach Hyman continued his hard play in this series with another ten hits. He also had six shots on goal. Hyman was on the ice for eighteen five-on-five scoring chances, which led all forwards.

John Kiingberg was reliable with the puck and he was making things happen offensively. He got an assist and had five shots on goal. He’s been steady in this series, which is a boost to a depleted Oilers defence group.

Jake Walman appears to be rounding into form at the right time. He led the Oilers by being on the ice for twenty five-on-five scoring chances in Game 5. He was +2 in just over twenty minutes of action.

Adam Henrique had a ridiculous expected goals percentage of 98.65%, held a 9-0 scoring chance advantage at five-on-five, and he won 77% of his faceoffs.

McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were dynamic. They were causing all kinds of chaos in the Kings’ zone. It felt like they could’ve had much more than just a point each on the empty netter by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

Calvin Pickard was solid in net. He delivered a second straight game with a save percentage over .900, this time with .955 (21 saves on 22 shots).

Wrap

That was the most dominant 3-1 win that I can recall seeing. It felt like one of those games you see in international tournaments where Canada goes up against a smaller European country and barely wins because the other team’s goalie was incredible and they scored on one of their few opportunities.

Part of me was worried that the Oilers would regret not finding a way to score in the first period when they outshot the Kings 19-4. All it takes is one chance the other way to get you in trouble, and that’s exactly what happened when Kuzmenko scored that powerplay goal. The Kings are usually so good at home, their powerplay has been hot (although it has cooled off in the last two games), and Kuemper was delivering a Vezina Trophy calibre performance.

The Oilers found a way to persevere though. They didn’t fold when they didn’t get rewarded for their strong start. They kept the pedal to the metal and they kept working. They got rewarded with a bounce that allowed Kane to tie the game, and they executed a textbook pass off the pads on Janmark’s goal. I took a lot of confidence from how the Oilers were able to shut the door once they got the lead. They made life pretty easy for Pickard, who looked really comfortable.

That was a high quality win from the Oilers. As much as the magical comebacks in Games 3 and 4 showed the maturity of this team, I feel that Game 5 was an even better example of their maturity. The Oilers played a disciplined game and showed perseverance against a tough challenge from Kuemper and the Kings.

The Oilers will have a chance to close out the series on home ice in Game 6 on Thursday night.

Related: Callouts, Standouts, and Shoutouts: Oilers even series with dramatic comeback win in Game 4