LOS ANGELES – A goalie change almost worked for the Kings on Sunday night. Almost.
The problem is, when you’re on the verge of despair in a playoff series, it’s almost not good enough.
David Rittich, the veteran journeyman who became a solid No. 2 to Cam Talbot after being recalled from the AHL Ontario Reign in December to replace injured Pheonix Copley, started Game 4 against Edmonton with the Kings trailing 2- 1 in the series. . He played well, despite only facing 13 shots, and the team in front of him played much better than in a 6-1 loss in Game 3…but one goal advantage digital has pushed them to the edge of the cliff.
So after an agonizing 1-0 loss pushed the Oilers to a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, the Kings once again face elimination at the hands of their historic tormentors Wednesday night in Edmonton .
And if the Kings end up losing to the Oilers for the third straight season, blame the special teams. The Oilers have scored on 8 of their 15 power plays in this series, while the Kings are 0 for 11. Edmonton’s only goal Sunday came from Evan Bouchard on a power play in second period after defender Andreas Englund, without his stick, had to fight against Ryan McLeod. on the ice in the Oilers offensive zone and was called upon to hold.
Bouchard was of course created by Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. Kings players and coaches will likely see these two in their sleep for months after this playoff series ends, which could be as soon as Wednesday night.
The goaltending change was a calculated risk by coach Jim Hiller, after Talbot allowed 17 goals in the first three games. Part of that performance was on the goalie, part of it was the teammates in front of him, and part of it was the supernatural skills of the guys in the other uniforms.
And sometimes just changing goalkeepers inspires the rest of the team to play harder.
“I don’t think we always gave Talbs the best shake,” Trevor Moore said. “I think we took too many penalties and we weren’t good in front of him.
“But Ritter was great, and he’s been like that for us all year. He gave us a very good chance tonight.
The different look gave the Kings a chance in large part because they outperformed the Oilers in most aspects of the game – a 33-13 advantage in shots, a 41-27 advantage in hits and 17 blocked shots.
“I thought (Rittich) played well,” Hiller said. “I mean, what’s disappointing for him is no goalie is going to win if we can’t score for him. So he did his job, there is no doubt about it. And we just – we had to score. So we don’t question David at all. (He) came in and did what he had to do.
Now, whether it’s good enough for him to get the start in Game 5…that’s to be determined. “We won’t make that decision yet,” Hiller said. “But he played well.”
It was the antithesis of the gong spectacle that was the third period of Game 3, with fights, grunts and parades to the penalty box and two Oilers goals in 5-on-3 situations. The effect was ultimately the same. There were two penalties called in Sunday’s game, in total. Each team had a numerical advantage. Edmonton converted theirs. The Kings did not.
“It happens to a player, it happens to a power play – when you’re just not feeling it, (or) it’s not going the way you want it to, you probably press a little bit and not as relaxed and just let the games happen,” Hiller said. “When you do this, you want to simplify it. But yeah, again, we’ll take a look. But they are good players, players who produced on the power play, so we are not going to fight too much here tonight.
The margin between success and agony can be razor-thin this time of year.
And in fact, the most apt comparison to Sunday night’s game might require a trip to the record books. Fifty years ago this month, a Kings team was in its seventh season of existence and made its first playoff appearance in five seasons and lost in five games to Chicago in the first round, and the third game was a 1-0 loss at The Forum in which future Hall of Fame goaltender Rogie Vachon faced just 10 shots. Chicago’s Germain Gagnon scored 40 seconds into the game, and Blackhawks goaltender Tony Esposito – also a future Hall of Famer – faced 32 shots, was under pressure all night and stopped them all.
Stuart Skinner may not have made the Hall of Fame, but he did a relatively decent Espo impersonation on Sunday night, even if the contemporary Kings didn’t apply as much pressure as their 1974 forebears.
(And before you ask, yes, I attended that game. Three quarters were played in the end, Esposito was defending, or so it seemed.)
The anxiety must be similar now, and probably even more so given the Kings’ recent history against the Oilers. In fact, the first word out of Philip Danault’s mouth when he met with journalists was: “Frustrated, of course.
“We have to play the same way,” he added. “And we have to make it difficult for them. Our backs are against the wall, so nothing to lose. We’ve limited them to one power play, but they find a way. But we have to play exactly the same way, and that has to give us a great chance.
Moore noted that the players had a little chat after the game and that the veteran leaders probably reminded them not to let frustration build in their heads.
“What are you going to do?” » Moore said. “We’re going to wake up tomorrow and we’re going to go back to work, and we need a better effort in the next game.”
Presumably, Danault was among those who spoke. He remembers being part of a Montreal team that came back from a 3-1 deficit in 2021, his final season in Montreal, when the Canadiens trailed Toronto and rallied with 4-4 wins. 3, 3-2 and 2-1, the first two in overtime, to eliminate their historic rivals in a first round series. The Canadiens used that momentum to make it to the Stanley Cup Final, but lost to Tampa Bay in five games.
“We came back,” Danault said. “So we have to believe in it and it has to be there. And the only thing is we have to play exactly the same way we did (Sunday night). We don’t control the outcome, but we will give ourselves the best chance.
Leaders can inspire with words. But it will take action – especially on special teams – to bring this series back to Los Angeles on Wednesday evening.
jalexander@scng.com
California Daily Newspapers
