After a hard-fought overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, the Edmonton Oilers now prepare to face a rival club in the NHL’s Pacific Division that has put together a 7-3-0 record in its last 10 games.
The Los Angeles Kings sit in third place in the Pacific Division with 87 points, just three shy of the Oilers, although Edmonton has played one less game to this point in the season.
The Oilers have put together a 5-3-2 record over their past 10 games and currently sit eight points back from the Vancouver Canucks who occupy the top spot in the Pacific Division.
The Kings have won four straight games after defeating the Canucks by a score of 3-2 on Monday night.
Los Angeles has earned a reputation for employing tactics that prompt their opponents to play a patient and disciplined game. After practice at Rogers Place on Thursday, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch was asked about the team’s approach to the matchup.
“I think we’ve done a pretty good job against L.A. (or) when we’ve played teams that do this 1-3-1 (system): L.A.’s one of them, New York’s another, Toronto does it — there’s a handful of teams that do it,” he said. “I think we’ve been pretty committed to doing the right play and there’s a few players that can pick their way through a maze of bodies — a maze of checkers. We’ve got a couple of them on our team.
“But overall, you have to pick your spots when to do it. And if you want to stickhandle through (such a formation), … when there’s bodies above and that many, it just causes a lot of trouble and we just have to make the right play.
“I do not want to be a dump-and-chase team every single time, but if we’re in a position where we’re forcing it, then we’re going to get into trouble.”
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Knoblauch was asked about the possibility of the Kings being a team the Oilers will need to face in the playoffs.
“As you get closer to the playoffs it’s more meaningful so every game I think is a dress rehearsal and this one, yeah there’s a likelihood that we are playing them in the first round,” he said.
“We’re just trying to figure out our game, things we can still get better at.”
Oilers celebrate Hyman’s milestones
Oilers winger Zach Hyman has five goals in a four-game goal streak. His overtime winner against the Jets was the 200th goal of his NHL career.
“He’s a big-time player for us and he shows up time and time again in big moments and we’re lucky to have him,” Oilers teammate Connor Brown, who also scored against the Jets, said of Hyman after Tuesday’s game.
On Sunday, Hyman scored his 50th goal of the season, the first time he has hit such a milestone.
A reporter asked Knoblauch about how many fans noticed Hyman’s teammates enthusiastically celebrated the momentous goal on the ice with him and the bond that the Oilers’ players share with one another.
“As a coach, you always want to see a team get along, work together, and probably most importantly is just to celebrate the accomplishments,” Knoblauch said. “And when somebody’s playing well, others are feeling happy for them. And when someone is playing poorly, or is down, something’s going wrong, that they’re going to pick them up.
“And those things that happened this last week on the road trip, whether it’s fights and guys congratulating each other on the huge accomplishments — Zach’s goal — whatever it is … I think it’s evident they are a very close-knit team.
“They’ll do anything for each other, which is important. Because when you’re heading into the playoffs, it’s a stressful time and it takes away from the stress when you’ve got a team that’s in it together.”
The Oilers will face off against the Kings at 7 p.m. at Rogers Place on Thursday night. You can listen to the game live on 630 CHED.
— with a file from The Canadian Press
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