<p>Last night&#8217;s <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/04/30/the-day-after-5-0-relentless-pressure-and-depth-scoring-push-oilers-over-kings-in-game-5/">3-1 victory over the L.A. Kings</a> was the most complete playoff game the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/04/29/edmonton-oilers-beat-los-angeles-kings-game-5-brink-of-elimination/">Edmonton Oilers</a> have played in the last four years. You might even say it was the most dominant in the salary cap era.</p>
<p>From the opening faceoff to the final whistle, the Oilers controlled the game. The Kings had no answer. Darcy Kuemper was the only reason the score was close.</p>
<p></p>
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<p>Via Clear Sight Analytics, the Oilers owned this game:</p>
<p>High-danger chances were 14-3.</p>
<p>Mid-danger chances were 10-1.</p>
<p>Low-danger chances were 13-14.</p>
<p>Sportlogiq had the Oilers with 17 inner slot shots — the most of any playoff game in the last nine years.</p>
<p>It was a bloodbath of monumental proportions.</p>
<p>Edmonton outshot the Kings 19-4 in the first period. The most action <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/04/27/calvin-pickard-starts-game-4-edmonton-oilers-connor-mcdavid-leon-draisaitl-own-lines/">Pickard</a> got was when he&#8217;d skate to the bench and back during the TV timeouts.</p>
<p>The Oilers were quicker all over the ice.</p>
<p>They had twice as much Ozone time.</p>
<p>They pressured the Kings into 21 turnovers.</p>
<p>At no time in the game did the Kings have any sustained pressure or put the Oilers on their heels.</p>
<p>“I don’t remember the last time we played as good a game as that,&#8221; said Zach Hyman who for the second straight game was a punishing force delivering hit after hit. He has 22 hits in the last two games.</p>
<p>“We found the upper hand and tried to not let go of that. We pretty much executed for 60 minutes,&#8221; added Mattias Janmark. Janmark had two goals in the regular season — one into an empty net, and the other one deflected in off of his pants. But he has two goals in five games in this series, and once again is showing he&#8217;s better in the playoffs than the regular season. Janmark scored the game winner with assists from Viktor Arvidsson and Vasily Podkolzin.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/04/28/edmonton-oilers-experience-full-display-game-4-comeback-win-los-angeles-kings/">Oilers won Game 4</a> on the backs of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard. You need your stars to win you a game, but last night they didn&#8217;t have a point until Draisaitl passed to McDavid, who moved it ahead to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for an empty net goal.</p>
<p>Last night was a full team effort.</p>
<p>Edmonton had the first 11 shots on goal to set the tone, and they never wavered.</p>
<p>Even when L.A. went up 1-0 with a power play goal, they gained no momentum from it. The Oilers didn&#8217;t panic or worry about the score. To that point the shots were 21-7. It was a good deflection goal by Andrei Kuzmenko off a faceoff win, but the Oilers had the next five shots on goal, with the fifth being Evander Kane tying the game.</p>
<p>It is rare to watch an NHL game and see one team control the game from start to finish. It&#8217;s even more rare in the playoffs, where the emotion is higher, but that&#8217;s exactly what happened last night.</p>
<p>Add in how the Oilers crushed L.A. in the third period and overtime of Game 4, and that makes five periods in which the Oilers have bullied the Kings. Edmonton has outshot L.A. 79-35 in those five frames and outscored them 7-1.</p>
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<figure id="attachment_173978" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-173978" style="width: 2184px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-173978" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/USATSI_26018224_168383996_lowres.jpg" alt="" width="2184" height="1456" srcset="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/USATSI_26018224_168383996_lowres.jpg 2184w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/USATSI_26018224_168383996_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/USATSI_26018224_168383996_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/USATSI_26018224_168383996_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/USATSI_26018224_168383996_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/USATSI_26018224_168383996_lowres-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2184px) 100vw, 2184px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-173978" class="wp-caption-text">Apr 25, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers defensemen Evan Bouchard (2) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Los Angelos Kings in game three of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure>
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<h2>END IT THURSDAY&#8230;</h2>
<p>The Kings are reeling. Head coach Jim Hiller didn&#8217;t mince his words after last night&#8217;s loss. “They were stronger. They beat us in every area of the game,&#8221; said Hiller. “They were just better. In every way.”</p>
<p>L.A., which had the worst road record among the eight Western Conference teams in the playoffs, now has to come to Edmonton needing a win.</p>
<p>They lost Game 7 in Edmonton in 2022.</p>
<p>They lost Game 6 on the road in 2023.</p>
<p>They lost Game 5 in Edmonton in 2024.</p>
<p>They will try to avoid a fourth-straight playoff exit on the road, while the Oilers have shown an ability to close out teams.</p>
<p>The last four playoffs they are 6-1 in games where they can eliminate their opponents. The only loss was Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup final in Florida. Many believe the hardest game to win in a series is the fourth win, to eliminate your opponent, and the Oilers have the killer instinct. They don&#8217;t give teams a chance to extend the series.</p>
<p>It will be very difficult to match the utter domination of Game 5 tomorrow night, but for the past 100 minutes, the Oilers have shown they are the better team. They need one more solid effort to make their fourth-consecutive trip to the NHL version of the Elite Eight.</p>
<h1>QUICK HITS&#8230;</h1>
<p>&#8212; Ritch Winter and I pre-taped an hour-long interview today for our Business of Sports Segment on <strong><a href="https://www.sports1440.ca/">Sports 1440</a> </strong>and <strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Oilersnationdotcom/streams">Oilersnation YouTube</a></strong>. It will air at 4 p.m. with Steve Valiquette from Clear Sight Analytics. It was highly educational. If you want to learn more about tracking statistics, but also the goalies and how to score more goals, I strongly recommend tuning in. I learned a lot.</p>
<p>&#8212; Alex Laferriere leads the Kings forwards with 17 hits followed by Warren Foegele, Trevor Moore and Kevin Fiala with 15. The Oilers leaders are Hyman (36), Vasily Podkolzin (27), Adam Henrique (22), Evander Kane and Trent Frederic with 17 each. The Oilers are punishing the Kings, and once again bunking the myth that you only hit because you don&#8217;t have the puck.</p>
<p>&#8212; <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/04/27/john-klingberg-playoff-history-clutch-moments/">John Klingberg</a> continues to impress with his poise with the puck. His play to set up Evander Kane was sublime. The Kings are the perfect opponent for Klingberg, because they don&#8217;t forecheck and that gives him more time to make plays. But in the offensive zone, his poise and patience with the puck at the blueline keeps improving each game. He&#8217;s creating a lot, simply by creating space for himself.</p>
<hr />
<h2><strong>ARTICLE PRESENTED BY bet365</strong></h2>
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Last night's <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/04/30/the-day-after-5-0-relentless-pressure-and-depth-scoring-push-oilers-over-kings-in-game-5/">3-1 victory over the L.A. Kings</a> was the most complete playoff game the <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/04/29/edmonton-oilers-beat-los-angeles-kings-game-5-brink-of-elimination/">Edmonton Oilers</a> have played in the last four years. You might even say it was the most dominant in the salary cap era.

From the opening faceoff to the final whistle, the Oilers controlled the game. The Kings had no answer. Darcy Kuemper was the only reason the score was close.


<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2107" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="325"></div>
Via Clear Sight Analytics, the Oilers owned this game:

High-danger chances were 14-3.

Mid-danger chances were 10-1.

Low-danger chances were 13-14.

Sportlogiq had the Oilers with 17 inner slot shots — the most of any playoff game in the last nine years.

It was a bloodbath of monumental proportions.

Edmonton outshot the Kings 19-4 in the first period. The most action <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/04/27/calvin-pickard-starts-game-4-edmonton-oilers-connor-mcdavid-leon-draisaitl-own-lines/">Pickard</a> got was when he'd skate to the bench and back during the TV timeouts.

The Oilers were quicker all over the ice.

They had twice as much Ozone time.

They pressured the Kings into 21 turnovers.

At no time in the game did the Kings have any sustained pressure or put the Oilers on their heels.

“I don’t remember the last time we played as good a game as that," said Zach Hyman who for the second straight game was a punishing force delivering hit after hit. He has 22 hits in the last two games.

“We found the upper hand and tried to not let go of that. We pretty much executed for 60 minutes," added Mattias Janmark. Janmark had two goals in the regular season — one into an empty net, and the other one deflected in off of his pants. But he has two goals in five games in this series, and once again is showing he's better in the playoffs than the regular season. Janmark scored the game winner with assists from Viktor Arvidsson and Vasily Podkolzin.

The <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/04/28/edmonton-oilers-experience-full-display-game-4-comeback-win-los-angeles-kings/">Oilers won Game 4</a> on the backs of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard. You need your stars to win you a game, but last night they didn't have a point until Draisaitl passed to McDavid, who moved it ahead to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for an empty net goal.

Last night was a full team effort.

Edmonton had the first 11 shots on goal to set the tone, and they never wavered.

Even when L.A. went up 1-0 with a power play goal, they gained no momentum from it. The Oilers didn't panic or worry about the score. To that point the shots were 21-7. It was a good deflection goal by Andrei Kuzmenko off a faceoff win, but the Oilers had the next five shots on goal, with the fifth being Evander Kane tying the game.

It is rare to watch an NHL game and see one team control the game from start to finish. It's even more rare in the playoffs, where the emotion is higher, but that's exactly what happened last night.

Add in how the Oilers crushed L.A. in the third period and overtime of Game 4, and that makes five periods in which the Oilers have bullied the Kings. Edmonton has outshot L.A. 79-35 in those five frames and outscored them 7-1.

<hr />

[caption id="attachment_173978" align="aligncenter" width="2184"]<img class="size-full wp-image-173978" src="http://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/USATSI_26018224_168383996_lowres.jpg" alt="" width="2184" height="1456" /> Apr 25, 2025; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers defensemen Evan Bouchard (2) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Los Angelos Kings in game three of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images[/caption]

<hr />

<h2>END IT THURSDAY...</h2>
The Kings are reeling. Head coach Jim Hiller didn't mince his words after last night's loss. “They were stronger. They beat us in every area of the game," said Hiller. “They were just better. In every way.”

L.A., which had the worst road record among the eight Western Conference teams in the playoffs, now has to come to Edmonton needing a win.

They lost Game 7 in Edmonton in 2022.

They lost Game 6 on the road in 2023.

They lost Game 5 in Edmonton in 2024.

They will try to avoid a fourth-straight playoff exit on the road, while the Oilers have shown an ability to close out teams.

The last four playoffs they are 6-1 in games where they can eliminate their opponents. The only loss was Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup final in Florida. Many believe the hardest game to win in a series is the fourth win, to eliminate your opponent, and the Oilers have the killer instinct. They don't give teams a chance to extend the series.

It will be very difficult to match the utter domination of Game 5 tomorrow night, but for the past 100 minutes, the Oilers have shown they are the better team. They need one more solid effort to make their fourth-consecutive trip to the NHL version of the Elite Eight.
<h1>QUICK HITS...</h1>
--- Ritch Winter and I pre-taped an hour-long interview today for our Business of Sports Segment on <strong><a href="https://www.sports1440.ca/">Sports 1440</a> </strong>and <strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Oilersnationdotcom/streams">Oilersnation YouTube</a></strong>. It will air at 4 p.m. with Steve Valiquette from Clear Sight Analytics. It was highly educational. If you want to learn more about tracking statistics, but also the goalies and how to score more goals, I strongly recommend tuning in. I learned a lot.

--- Alex Laferriere leads the Kings forwards with 17 hits followed by Warren Foegele, Trevor Moore and Kevin Fiala with 15. The Oilers leaders are Hyman (36), Vasily Podkolzin (27), Adam Henrique (22), Evander Kane and Trent Frederic with 17 each. The Oilers are punishing the Kings, and once again bunking the myth that you only hit because you don't have the puck.

--- <a href="https://oilersnation.com/2025/04/27/john-klingberg-playoff-history-clutch-moments/">John Klingberg</a> continues to impress with his poise with the puck. His play to set up Evander Kane was sublime. The Kings are the perfect opponent for Klingberg, because they don't forecheck and that gives him more time to make plays. But in the offensive zone, his poise and patience with the puck at the blueline keeps improving each game. He's creating a lot, simply by creating space for himself.

<hr />

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