NHL analyst reckons Oilers PK 'just doesn't have an answer' for Kings' dominant PP

The Edmonton Oilers dropped Game 2 of their Stanley Cup playoffs first round against the Los Angeles Kings in a blowout 6-2 loss. They are now at a 2–0 deficit as the series heads back to Edmonton for the next two games. Oilers' penalty kill has come under a lot of scrutiny as it has been deemed ineffective against a potent Kings power play.

The Kings have scored five times, including three on Wednesday, on ten power-play attempts against the Oilers in the first two games. In comparison, the Oilers, who reached the Stanley Cup Finals last season, had conceded just four goals from power plays the entire playoffs.

During the regular season, Edmonton had the 16th-best penalty kill percentage in the league at 78.2%. That hasn't been their strongest suit this season. Moreover, the Kings have a 43-2-0 record in the regular season in 2024-25 when they scored three or more goals. Thus, minimizing damage is key to the Oilers' success.

As per NHL insider Frankie Corrado on TSN's broadcast, the Oilers' penalty kill is inefficient against the likes of Kings' Drew Doughty and Adrian Kempe.

"There is an offensive outburst right now from the Los Angeles Kings, and a lot of that is flowing through the power play," he said. "Keep in mind, this was an LA Kings power play that was 27th in the NHL this season. So this wasn't exactly a barn-burning power play. And here's one of the crazy things about this—it's a five-forward unit, and you have Drew Doughty on the team.

"Drew Doughty is one of the best defensemen of our generation, but he's not out there for the first unit that has really caught fire. Adrian Kempe's one of those guys, Kempe's caught fire, and the Edmonton Oilers penalty kill just doesn't have an answer for this right now."

The Edmonton Oilers' power play hasn't been any better

However, the Edmonton Oilers' power play hasn't found much success either. They had scored nine times from twenty attempts during the 2024 playoffs first round when they beat the Kings. This year, the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl haven't found any success.

"The first game, we created lots of looks that probably could have ended up in some goals," Draisaitl said about their power play performance so far. "We haven't (scored). There's no going around that. We just have to cash in. We’ve gotta dig in a little deeper and execute a little bit better.”

The Oilers have beaten the Kings in the first round in the last three seasons. However, this time, they must repeat a feat they have achieved only once before: bounce back from a 2–0 deficit. They had beaten San Jose in 2006 in a similar fashion.