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LOS ANGELES, CA - It was never going to be that easy, was it?
After back-to-back six goal victories against the Kings, the Oilers were given a bit of a reality check on Sunday in the form a 4-0 loss in Los Angeles. The Kings were able to inflict their strategy of piling on shots from everywhere, directing 45 pucks towards Mike Smith on the night, with three finding their way past the goaltender.
In the opposite crease, veteran goaltender Jonathan Quick rebounded from a four goals in 17 shots performance that saw him pulled midway through the game, to notch a 31 save shutout in Game 4.
"It's a good team, they're going to come back and make their adjustments," Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse said after the game." Quick is a good goalie, and he's been a good goalie in this league for such a long time. He's not just going to come back and feel bad, he's going to play his butt off and he did (on Sunday)."
Despite the knock down from the Kings, there is no panic in an Oilers locker room that has shown a habit of rebounding down the stretch.
"I think you're going to see an Edmonton Oilers team that is going to come out prepared, they're going to come out hard, and they're going to realize that there are no shortcuts to playoff success," said Head Coach Jay Woodcroft.

The Oilers have already shown their ability to punch back in this series, arguably playing their best game of the first round after their Game 1 defeat. Edmonton turned the tables on Los Angeles, notching a 6-0 shutout victory in front of a raucous Roger Place crowd.
The Edmonton Oilers head coach will use the time afforded from now until Tuesday night, to recalibrate his squad like he did after Game 1 and use Sunday's setback as an opportunity for improvement.
"You want to make sure you're not just sweeping things under the rug," Woodcroft said. "You want to make sure you're seeing things the way they occurred, you do your work, and you give your players something they can sink their teeth into in order to improve. That's where our focus is."

"We have a genuine faith in our players and our ability to continue to improve," The Oilers coach added. "For us, there are areas of our game where we can be better, that's just the facts. We weren't anywhere where we needed to be in some areas. We're going to address them, and improve, and be ready for Game 5."
Woodcroft has continuously preached the idea of "keeping your picture small" throughout the season, and that mantra rings true in the post-season. The Oilers picture is now just a best of three series, with the Blue & Orange holding the home ice advantage. Everyone in the locker room now knows that success in the upcoming games won't come easy.
"We know we're in a battle here. We know that's a good team over there, and there's no team that's just going to roll over in this league," Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "Everybody's here for a reason and it's just going to come down to who wants it more and finding a way to break them down and stick with it."