Kings Humiliated In 8–1 Beatdown By Edmonton Oilers
[ad_1]
The Kings’ (23-21-14) worst fears against their divisional rival came back to haunt them in a brutal fashion Thursday night. After entering this matchup following last night’s embarrassing loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, Los Angeles followed up with an absolute meltdown on defense, losing 8-1 to the Edmonton Oilers (29-23-8).
Edmonton scored twice in the first period and added three more in the second and third to further bury the Kings in the coffin in a very lopsided performance that exposed the Kings’ defensive breakdowns, puck battles, face-offs, and lollygagging on offense.
Advertisement
First Period: Early Damage
The warning signs appeared immediately. Edmonton opened the scoring at 12:05 of the first when Ty Emberson finished the clean 3-on-2 rush, beating Darcy Kuemper high glove side to make it 1-0.
Just over a minute later, the Oilers notched in another goal, banking the shot off Kuemper’s arm and in for a 2-0 lead. The Kings were handed a power-play opportunity a few minutes later after Darnell Nurse was assessed the double minor for high-sticking Brian Dumoulin, drawing blood. It was a prime chance to build off that physical play.
Instead, LA failed to convert on the power-play, finishing the night 0/2, while the Oilers went 2/3. Los Angeles still managed to score in the period, despite several defensive lapses, when Joel Edmundson’s shot from the left side was deflected by Warren Foegle, which found its way through the net, cutting the deficit to 1 and ending the first period with the score 2-1.
Second Period: Game Slips Away
If the first period showed any hints of where this game was going, the second and third periods were even worse. In a span of six minutes, Edmonton scored three goals, extending their lead to 5-1 just like that. By the time the horn sounded and the second intermission ended, the boos were raining down in Crypto.com Arena.
The Kings defesnive zone coverage was disorganized, and breakouts were sloppy. Edmonton was taking advantage of…
[ad_2]