Game two of the Los Angeles Kings’ road trip continues tonight in Edmonton.
Here are some key stats to know before the puck drops at 6:30 pm PST…
* Overall, the Kings are 6-0-4 in the last 10 games vs. the Oilers, including two wins this season. In their last 10 visits to Edmonton they’re 6-4-0 – yet, they’ve four straight, dating back to Nov. 26, 2008.
* Breaking down goals by period, the Kings are an even scoring team – with 46 in the first, 46 in the second and 45 in the third. The problem this season has been the second period, where they’ve given up 53 goals (compared to 36 in the first and 34 in the first).
* The Oilers get stronger as the game goes on, having scored 31 goals in the first, 40 in the second and 48 in the third.
* Not so special teams – the Kings have a mediocre road power play (ranked 15th in the NHL at 17.1%) and their road penalty kill is ranked 22nd (77.4%). Things are even worse for the Oilers, who rank 28th at home in both categories (14.6% PP, 78.3% PK).
* If you’re up to speed on all the trade rumors out there – 99% of which will never happen – then, you know all about the speculation that has the Oilers sending Dustin Penner to LA sometime this month. It’s possible. However, GM Dean Lombardi is a big baseball guy and in that sport there’s an old saying ‘You never want the best player on the worst team.’
* Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson haven’t scored many goals this season. Yet, they each have one against the Oilers so far. Jarret Stoll has two goals vs. the Oilers, both scored in the Jan. 15 game in LA (5-2 Kings victory).
* Ryan Smyth, who of course was a long-time Oiler, actually made his NHL debut against the Kings – something he talked about in detail here.
Finally, as noted in yesterday’s 50-game review, the Kings probably need to get around 15 points on this 10-game road run in February. After picking up a point in last night’s shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild, that would make it 14 points in the remaining nine games.
Two points tonight would be helpful towards their long term goal of making the playoffs and more immediate goal of keeping this short four-game streak going.
The Mayor
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RELATED ARTICLES:
Game Preview with Kelly Buchberger
Painting by Numbers with Ryan Smyth – he reflects on key milestones, the Kings and Oilers
Point Break at 50 Games – a look at what the Kings need to do make the playoffs
What Shoulda Been – Kings vs Oilers, November 2009
Best Acquisition of the Decade – notes on Deadmarsh, Buchberger and others
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