Kings' Power Play Puts Oilers on Notice

The Los Angeles Kings outlasted the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their opening-round series, winning by a final score of 6-5. The contest finished with an epic back-and-forth, with the Oilers coming back from a four-goal deficit to tie the game late in the third period. The Kings tallied the game-winning goal with less than two minutes in the final frame, giving Los Angeles the 1-0 series lead.

Scoring goals came easily for both teams in Game 1, but it was the Kings' power play that emerged as the biggest offensive threat in the series. The Oilers' offensive attack understandably commands the discourse, but it was Los Angeles that finished 2-for-5 with the man advantage.

If the Oilers do not respond with a better penalty killing effort in Game 2, the Kings will be in an excellent position to advance.

The Kings might not give Edmonton the chance. Their first power play unit ran like a well-oiled machine in Game 1. They moved the puck crisply and with ease, forcing the Oilers' penalty killers to scramble around the defensive zone.

It was their precise puck movement that kicked off the game's scoring and started the power play on the right foot. Kings' winger Andrei Kuzmenko was on the doorstep of the goaltender unchecked as the rest of the unit swept the puck from side to side in the offensive zone. Kevin Fiala then whipped a beautiful shot-pass to the goal crease, which Kuzmenko tucked home for the opening tally.

Fiala would continue the power play success with an absolute bomb of a shot in the third period. With the Kings on a two-man advantage, they again moved the puck cleanly around the offensive zone for the entire man advantage. The puck movement exhausted the Oilers' penalty killers, and on an ensuing face-off, Adrian Kempe set up Fiala for the one-timer goal.

Even when the Kings didn't convert, they moved the puck well. The Oilers were lost during on the penalty kill, and they have to clean it up moving forward.

Otherwise, the Oilers' hopes of returning to the Stanley Cup Finals will fade quickly. Edmonton has won the previous three postseason meetings between the rivals, but if the Kings' power play continues to dominate that will not be the case for this year's meeting.