Oilers showing maturity with chance to close out Western 1st Round

LOS ANGELES -- The Edmonton Oilers proved a point winning 1-0 against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round on Sunday.

With an identity as a high-octane team featuring two of the best offensive players in the NHL, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers won despite being outshot 33-13 to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. They have an opportunity to close out the series at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Wednesday.

"I thought it was a great win, I really did," McDavid said Sunday. "It's not the prettiest way to win a game but it was one that was big, nonetheless. I thought we had lots of guys step up, 'Skinny' (goalie Stuart Skinner) was great. All 60 [minutes] they were tough to play against, especially around the net and I thought it was a great win."

The Oilers are maturing.

Eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs the previous two seasons by the eventual champions (Colorado Avalanche in 2022, Vegas Golden Knights in 2023), Edmonton went into this season determined to develop an ability to grind out victories when necessary.

A team needing three or four goals to win games the past two seasons is now able to lock things down defensively when necessary.

"We'll win games any way we can," McDavid said. "I thought L.A. played really well, give them credit, I thought they had a lot of juice. They were fast, they were physical, they were everywhere, and sometimes you have to find a way to win a game like that where maybe you're second best, where maybe you just gut one out, and I thought our group did that (Sunday)."

Los Angeles was a desperate team in Game 4 and took a proactive approach with a strong forecheck, pressing Edmonton most of the night. It was the Kings' most complete performance of the series, but they were unable to beat Skinner and lost on a power-play goal from defenseman Evan Bouchard 11:49 into the second period.

"It was awesome," Oilers forward Zach Hyman said Sunday. "We usually win scoring goals, and we scored one goal, 'Stu' played unbelievable and shut everything down in the third period.

"We were going into the third period with a 1-0 lead and a sign of a mature team is to hold on to it, do everything you need to do to hold on to it. Obviously, you want to press and score another one, but they were playing really well and I thought we limited the [Grade-A chances]. Our penalty kill had to do one job and they were unbelievable and that's the biggest thing there."

Skinner earned his first NHL playoff shutout. Defensively, the Oilers were also solid, protecting the front of the net and blocking shots under relentless pressure. Edmonton scored on its one power play and Los Angeles failed to capitalize on its lone chance with the man-advantage.

"We can't always rely on scoring three, four or five goals a night to get our victories," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said Monday before departing for Edmonton. "There's going to be a lot more of those kind of victories if we're going to have success long term.

"Lot of credit to the guys. They worked very hard blocking shots, winning battles, getting pucks in deep and credit to L.A., they played well in limiting our offense. I really enjoyed watching the guys play that type of defensive hockey."

The 13 shots in a playoff game equaled an Oilers low and it was the fewest in an Edmonton postseason victory. Only six teams in NHL history have won a playoff game with fewer shots; the Vancouver Canucks had 12 in a 2-1 victory against the Nashville Predators in Game 3 of their first-round series on Friday.

"It's just massive, the difference between 2-2 and 3-1 it's just huge," Hyman said. "Your goalie has to steal you a game, your penalty kill has to steal you a game, your power play has to steal you a game. There are different parts of your game.

"If you have different ways to win, then you win more games, that's the reality. The margins in the playoff are so tight and every year I've been here, it's felt like we could have done more, and I think having more options in how to win a game. That's huge and I think we have to win more games like this."

The inability to win tight, low-scoring games cost the Oilers in the past. They were swept in the Western Conference Final by the Avalanche in 2022 and lost the second round to the Golden Knights in six games. Edmonton conceded 22 goals in each series.

"During that 16-game winning streak (from Dec. 21-Jan. 27), toward the end, there were games we were winning, but maybe it wasn't our best games," Knoblauch said. "But even early, maybe the middle of January, we were winning a lot of low-scoring games, 3-2, 2-1 games. It's been said in the NHL is typically a 3-2 league and that's usually a recipe for success and [Sunday] night we had to keep it to 1-0.

"There's going to be a lot more of those games if we're going to have success long term, and we need to have the mindset that maybe we just need one to win sometimes."