The boo-birds were out in full throated displeasure Tuesday night in Edmonton after the Oilers were handed a 5-0 shutout by the Los Angeles Kings.
Dustin Brown scored twice in 5-0 LA win over Oilers in Edmonton – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
Jonathan Quick made 32 saves to get the shutout and win.
“I thought it was a good hockey game,” Kings coach John Stevens said. “It was close early on as both teams had good chances. Then the power play turned it. They took the penalty on Drew and I really like what happened there.
“First, a teammate (Kings defenseman Derek Forbort) stuck up for a teammate, which should happen there. Then, the power play dug in and got some production, which should also happen in that situation. To me, it was the difference in the game. A really good response from the team.”
For the Oilers, it was anything but a good game. Edmonton was uninspired in their play and the rarely challenged Quick with quality chances.
Despite that, the match was close through two periods but a five-minute major to Patrick Maroon late in the middle frame led to a two-goal outburst on the power play from the Kings.
“The major penalty, it sucked the life out of us,” Oilers head coach Todd McLellan said. “Again, multiple mistakes, things we worked on. Cheating sometimes and leaving early. Not being able to clear a puck when you execute.”
Dustin Brown struck for two goals in the win.
Andy Andreoff, Trevor Lewis and Adrian Kempe added single markers for LA.
The major penalty to Maroon was a check to the head of Drew Doughty down low on the boards.
“Obviously, I’m glad he came back and finished the game, Doughty,” Maroon said. “Honestly, I’m a big forward, just going in to do my job, go in on the forecheck. My elbow didn’t come up, nothing came up, it’s just unfortunate my follow through, my body, kind of hit him in the head.
“I’m not a dirty player, I never was a dirty player. I have so much respect for players in this league and him. I play the game hard. I’m just mad they gave me a match (penalty) and it hurt our PK.”
The Kings took the hit personally.
“That’s part of it, especially when it’s probably our best player,” Brown said. “But probably more so, it’s a divisional game and we can finish it in the first five minutes of the third period, and that’s what we did. The power play hasn’t been great for us this year, but you don’t need a great power play, just a timely one.”
The Kings kept pace with the Vegas Golden Knights in the Pacific Division race and improved to 24-11-5.
“It was an excellent outing by our hockey team,” Stevens said. “I thought we got good production from everybody in our lineup and played hard and stuck with the game plan. The team-checking mindset was exactly where it needed to be.”
Doughty was forgiving in his comments after the game.
“I didn’t see it at all. He got me right in the head. I didn’t have the puck, that’s why I was so shocked by it,” he said. “But I’ve known Maroon for a long time; he’s just trying to finish a hit. I don’t know that he meant to try and hurt me. I forgive him.”
[WATCH: All Kings vs. Oilers highlights]
Cam Talbot made 28 saves in taking the loss and was solid through the first 40 minutes of play but the Oilers reverted to form this season and left him abandoned.
The loss dropped the Oilers to 17-20-3 as they gone flat since toying with .500 hockey in December.
“We just completely erased a four-game win streak we had just before the Christmas break. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t have picked where we left off. Forty-two games left, running out of time. Can’t keep coming up with the same excuses night in, night out,” Milan Lucic said after the loss.
The defense for Edmonton was soft and permitted the Kings free range in the offensive zone.
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