LOS ANGELES — This was when the Los Angeles Kings needed to meet the moment, to prove they could and silence the doubters after squandering chances against the Edmonton Oilers in a series they know they should still control.
But on a night when they needed their best game, the Kings spit out their absolute worst.
Sure, it might have taken the Oilers until 7:12 of the third period to grab the lead on Mattias Janmark’s goal, but that was only because Darcy Kuemper kept the Kings in the game with a Vezina Trophy-worthy effort. The final score was 3-1 because of Kuemper’s stellar play, not because the Oilers pulled out a close game. It wasn’t close at all.
The Kings didn’t blow this one. In a Game 5 back at home, on the ice they’ve protected so well all season, in a moment meant to restore their confidence, they were beaten up, down and sideways.
“It’s hard right now,” Kings captain Anže Kopitar said. “Obviously, everybody’s frustrated. But we got to put it behind us. We got to go win a game on the road. And that’s what we’re going to focus on here.”
The Kings are once again facing elimination, yet this time, it must feel so deflating after winning the first two games with the home ice advantage they worked hard to gain, then letting potential victories in Games 3 and 4 slip through their fingers.
The crowd at Crypto.com Arena was again juiced by a return engagement from the beloved Koreatown Senior and Community Center harmonica players, but the Kings’ game went completely off the rails. Fast starts have powered them in much of the series, but they came out like an old car choking with a bad transmission.
The Grand Entrance 😎 https://t.co/rO5nUz6gUN pic.twitter.com/rJkGPYaNgy
— x – LA Kings (@LAKings) April 30, 2025
The Oilers had the first 10 shots of the game. That edge grew to a 19-4 advantage when the teams went to their dressing rooms for the first time.
The Kings were blitzed again in the second. Edmonton had a 33-12 shot advantage going into the second intermission. Los Angeles scored the first goal for the fourth time in the series on Andrei Kuzmenko’s tip of Kopitar’s point shot, another power-play goal.
But the way they were playing, that lead had no chance of sticking.
“I think we’re all frustrated with the effort we gave,” Kings defenseman Joel Edmundson said. “Throughout the whole season, we’ve been playing hard at home. We love playing in front of these fans. Huge game for us and we come out like that.”
One good period could have rescued a brutal effort, but the Kings were outshot in the third. Ten of their 22 shots forced Oilers goalie Calvin Pickard to make a save, but the level of stress, compared to what Kuemper was dealing with, paled in comparison. Natural Stat Trick tracked the Oilers with a 21-4 edge in high-danger chances.
When the Kings did connect on a pass, it was cause for mock celebration.
“We couldn’t really get anything going, obviously,” Kopitar said. “The shot clock was pretty evident. We didn’t sustain any O-zone time. When you don’t have that, it’s hard to string shifts together and gain some momentum. We’re gonna look at some stuff and make sure that we do a lot better job.”
Kings coach Jim Hiller, who made two lineup adjustments for Game 5 — re-inserting Jordan Spence on defense and putting Alex Turcotte back in on the fourth line — stated what was blatantly apparent. The Oilers executed better. There was no part of the Kings’ game that was good outside of the power play, and even that went awry in the third when they had a chance to answer Janmark’s goal.
When the Kings are at their best, they’re a connected five-man unit that supports each other and has the puck moving up ice. Too often on Tuesday, they were circling back to recover pucks that didn’t get to their destination. And they lost most of the puck races, which typically doesn’t happen.
But it wasn’t only the lack of offense that left Hiller puzzled.
“I can tell you we weren’t connecting defensively either,” he said. “I think you can connect it on both sides of the puck. We were not connected defensively. I don’t think we gave ourselves a great chance. We turned the puck over. You guys watched the game. How many times did we turn the puck over so we were disorganized and they came racing at us? … We probably give them more odd-man rushes in the first period tonight than they might have had the whole series to this point.
“You’re just not going to win that way. We’re not going that way. Maybe some other teams win that way. We’re not going to win that way. And that’s why we play the style that we do. We have to keep it tight and then grind you for one or two.”
Add it up, and it was an incredibly disappointing night for a team bent on changing a narrative.
“You know, it’s do or die for us,” Edmundson said. “Nothing to save it for. If we want to win, we got to eventually win some road games. Huge game for us. Think about this one tonight. But tomorrow is a new day. Go up to Edmonton and get ready for that game.”
Darcy Kuemper has made more than 40 saves in each of the last two games. (Gary A. Vasquez / Imagn Images)
Before they toss this Game 5 in the garbage, the Kings can pull out Kuemper’s fine goaltending. He’s done his part in the last two games and deserved a much better fate. On Sunday, he made 44 stops and kept his team alive in overtime. On Tuesday, he turned in a 43-save effort that gave his team a shot in a game they had no business winning.
The Oilers didn’t even need Leon Draisaitl or Connor McDavid to go nuclear in Game 5. That’s how bad the Kings were.
“Darce was stellar tonight, as he’s been the whole season and the series,” Kopitar said. “He gave us a chance. We couldn’t get a whole lot going.”
The Kings picked the worst time to forget all their lines. Now they’ve only got one shot to prove they can keep the show going and force a Game 7.
“I think we’ve had a pretty good season to this point,” Hiller said. “Guys have put in a massive effort thus far. You got to go win a game. I know it’s a cliché, but it goes up and down. From the 29-second mark (of Game 4) until now, it doesn’t look very good. We got to go win a hockey game. They took it away from us.
“We got to go win a hockey game and take it back. That’s just the way it goes. There’s no tricks here.”
(Top photo of Alex Laferriere: Gary A. Vasquez / Imagn Images)