The Kings needed a change in fortune Sunday, so they made a change in goal.
And while that changed the way the team played, it didn’t change the momentum of the Kings’ best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series, with defenseman Evan Bouchard’s second-period power-play goal giving the Edmonton Oilers a 1-0 victory to send the series back to Canada for Game 5 on Wednesday with the Oilers holding a 3-1 edge.
The loss was only the fifth in 20 games for the Kings at home since the All-Star break. Two of those have come in the last four days against the Oilers, and Sunday’s loss could wind up being the last game at Crypto.com Arena this season with the Kings needing to win in Edmonton to avoid elimination.
Given the stakes, Kings coach Jim Hiller really had no choice but to make a change. With the Oilers overwhelming goalie Cam Talbot in the first three games of the series, scoring 17 times, the Kings were in danger of being run out of the playoffs.
It wasn’t all Talbot’s fault; seven of the goals he gave up came against the Kings’ once-vaunted penalty kill, which ranked second in the NHL during the regular season. Still, Hiller had to do something to change the direction of the series so he sat Talbot for Game 4 and gave Rittich his second career playoff start.
Rittich had previous success against Edmonton, going 5-5-1 with a 2.73 goals-against average in 13 games. And in February he shut out the Oilers, giving the Kings their only win over Edmonton in the regular season.
He played well again Sunday, holding the explosive Oilers scoreless before Bouchard’s goal ruined the Kings’ most complete performance of the playoffs.
Kings forward Kevin Fiala gets knocked down by Edmonton Oilers forward Derek Ryan during the second period Sunday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Kings center Anze Kopitar, right, battles Oilers defenseman Vincent Desharnais as he skates toward a loose puck during the final moments of the Kings’ Game 4 loss Sunday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The Kings were aggressive and physical from the start Sunday, outshooting Edmonton 10-4 in the first period and delivering punishing hits on both ends of the ice. More importantly, the Kings stayed out of the penalty box and kept the Oilers off the board.
The two things are undoubtedly related since Edmonton, which has been exceptionally successful on the power play, had scored in every full period in the series until then.
It was a noticeable improvement from Game 3, when the Kings fell behind 3-0 in the first period and were never in the game.
That all ended just after the midway point of the second period when Andreas Englund was called for a holding penalty. The Oilers needed only 63 seconds to make the Kings pay, with Bouchard scoring on a one-timer from well above the circle at 11:49 from a pass by Leon Draisaitl. Connor McDavid also had an assist, giving him a league-best nine in the postseason.
Edmonton Oilers forward Derek Ryan slams into the boards in front of Kings forward Kevin Fiala during the second period Sunday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The goal was the Oilers’ eighth in 15 tries on the power play and it was a bad omen for the Kings since the team that scored first won each of the first three games in the series.
The Kings, meanwhile, rarely tested Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner. Although they outshot the Oilers 33-13, Skinner was forced into only a handful of uncomfortable saves — none of which came on the Kings’ only power play, midway through the third period. The Kings have failed to score in 11 power-play opportunities in the series.
Sunday’s shutout, Skinner’s first in the postseason, was also the first in the playoffs against the Kings since Game 2 of their first-round series with the Oilers in 2022. Edmonton won that game 6-0.
