Kings kick off post-McLellan era with big win over Oilers

WRAP UP IS

Things worth mentioning…

We usually do a Player of the Game here but… Can you really say anybody stood out positively during a 4-0 loss? I’ll give props to Cody Ceci and Brett Kulak, two of the names who get talked about as trade toss-ins quite often. They were the two defenders on the Oilers who weren’t on the ice for a goal against during the loss.

There were three players with three shots on goal, as Evan Bouchard, Zach Hyman, and Evander Kane all attempted to score on David Rittich. Leon Draisaitl, Warren Foegele, Corey Perry, and Connor McDavid all had two shots as well. Again, not much to write home about. 

Stuart Skinner had his first sub .900 save percentage performance in the year 2024, as he allowed three goals on 25 shots in the loss. The last time he had a save percentage in the .800s was back on December 19, 2023, the team’s last loss before the 16-game win streak. In Skinner’s previous loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, he turned aside 23 of 25 shots. He wasn’t quite as sharp in this one. 

Another thing of note is that for the second time in three games, Connor McDavid showed frustration, as he broke his stick after failing to score. If you recall, McDavid was pissed after the Oilers allowed the empty net goal to the Vegas Golden Knights earlier this week.

For the Kings, this was the team’s first win after firing head coach Todd McLellan. The Kings had a terrible losing stretch in December and January and McLellan wound up taking the fall. They came out against the Oilers on Saturday in their first game back from the All-Star break and picked up their biggest victory in well over a month.

The next time the Oilers play is on Tuesday, as they’ll be back home to host the Detroit Red Wings. They’ll just have that one home game and then they’ll be back on the road for a three-game trip against Central Division opponents. 

As it stands, the Oilers have a 30-17-1 record for 61 points. With the win, the Kings move to 24-15-10 and are three points behind the Oilers with an extra game played. Edmonton sits seven points back of the Golden Knights with five games in hand. Those games in hand only matter if you bank the points, though. Time to get back on a winning streak.