I think part of the issue last night for you guys was match up. Kopitar's line should be matched against McDavid and Danault against Drai. As an Oilers fan, we have to be ready for game 2, because I know the Kings will bring it.

They broke up the Moore-Danault-Arvy line because they were a combined -6 after the first period. That was one of Danault's worst periods I've ever seen him play.



Unfortunately, that plays directly to your guys' strength. I'm a Kopi truther through and through (he has not gotten nearly enough national recognition throughout his career). But the fact of the matter is he has lost a couple steps over the past 4 years. He doesn't have the speed to keep up with McDavid anymore. The past two years that assignment has gone to Danault and he's done as "Okay" of a job as anyone can be expected to do against 97. The issue last night was a mix of poor pinching and no forward supporting those pinching - which allowed McDavid free ice to rush - and Danault really struggling staying in his zone coverage. He lost multiple people throughout the game. In addition, Doughty and Anderson had a very rough game. They'll need to pick up their game if we want to make a series of it.

- My thought was that Byfield and Kempe are faster, so they can assist Kopi.
- Kings usually play a very stingy game so it was interesting that we had so many easy rushes into your o-zone.
- TBH, Daughty and Andersson usually do struggle against McDavid, I'm not sure why they get matched against him. Gavrikov-Roy would be a better match up. I thought there was a statistic from last years playoffs that McDavid's line didn't register an even strength point when matched against Gavrikov-Roy.
- I'm interested to see if Talbot plays game 2. IMO, I don't think he lost the game for you guys. I thought he made so really key saves.
- One thing I also think that hampered the Kings offense, Skinner's puck handling in the o-zone. I don't think i've seen him come out of the net that many times to handle the puck. It essentially killed any forecheck you guys had.

Watching game 1 was a tough time to be honest, but I know the Kings will come prepared for game 2 and they will adjust. The Oilers have capitalized phenomenally well on the Kings mistakes, as they did also in the past years. Whether Kopi or Danault will be matched up against 97, both have to step up their game to reduce their chances to a minimum. Danault literally played his worst game in the Kings uniform, but he is surely aware of that, as well. I also wouldn't say that Talbot lost the game, it was definitely a matter of our first D-pair, Danault and Kopi. Nevertheless, I'd expect Talbot to be as intimidating as possible. If he can make some incredible saves, this can also be the turning point sometimes.

The biggest keys for me, besides matchups and individual performaces are discipline and to use the chances, that are there. The Oilers are 3/4 on their PP, while the Kings are 0/2. They gotta be more lethal on their on PP and stay out of the box. I disagreed with the first call against PLD but the penalty Moore took is exceptionally awful.
Arvy had a breakaway to make it 2:1, he had a wide open net on a beautiful pass by Kempe, but couldn't convert. They need to score on such good chances.
The Kings need to get their big guns started and I think they are absolutely aware of that and will be ready for game 2.