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Jeremy Roenick breaks down Kings vs. Edmonton going into Game 6

April 27, 2023

Every playoff series has had its singular degrees of separation and intersections, and ahead of Saturday’s Game 6, the Kings and Edmonton Oilers were no exception.

Edmonton winger Zach Hyman and Kings forward Trevor Moore forged deep mutual respect as teammates with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.

Kings captain Anze Kopitar and Edmonton’s top playoff producer, Leon Draisaitl, played together at the World Cup of Hockey for Team Europe while sharing the blessings and burdens of being the face of their respective national programs in Slovenia and Germany.

There’s also the mentor-protege relationship between Kings head coach Todd McLellan and Edmonton bench boss Jay Woodcroft. At the outset of their careers with the San Jose Sharks, not only did they work together, they coached former Kings center Jeremy Roenick and current Kings general manager Rob Blake, then a defenseman, as they wound down their pro tenures.

“They’re different but they’re very similar. They both have the same kind of mannerisms and the same kind of mentality in terms of their coaching styles. They’re very poised,” said Roenick, a nine-time All-Star. “Todd was one of my favorite coaches, unfortunately it wasn’t until the last year of my career.”

Roenick also lauded Blake’s ability to construct a deep, balanced roster, even making key adjustments on the fly within the season. Such meticulous preparation proved necessary when facing Edmonton, however, as the Oilers were also aggressive at the trade deadline despite getting career years from forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Hyman and, among others, their two brightest stars, Draisaitl and Connor McDavid.

“They’re built better now, and I think the coaching is fantastic. There’s a very, very smart guy behind that bench that knows the game extremely well,” Roenick said.

Roenick, whose career spanned the two decades from 1989 to 2009, estimated that Woodcroft’s captain, McDavid, would have been capable of scoring “300 points” in the ’80s and ’90s. Roenick described his prime years as an era when scoring was higher, goalie equipment was smaller, and methods of improving skating, strength and overall fitness were nowhere near where they were in the contemporary game.

“I’ve just never seen a player of his magnitude, and I’ve played against the greatest. Mario, Wayne, Messier and all the guys who are Hall of Famers and on the top of the all-time scoring lists. Not one person has the traits and the abilities of Connor McDavid on two blades,” Roenick said.

“It’s incredible to watch his speed, his accuracy, his edge work and his ability at extremely high speeds to not only handle a puck, but turn on a dime and also make plays in very, very tight quarters, to do things that most guys have trouble doing standing still.”

Yet McDavid was held off the scoresheet in the Kings’ Game 1 win and didn’t get his first even-strength points in the series until Game 4. Though he’s been effective, like his two power-play goals in 100 seconds during a Game 3 Kings victory, McDavid hasn’t flat-out terrorized the Kings or provided any signature moments where he burst across three zones and five defenders for a goal. Compared with his nearly two-points-per-game pace of the regular season, he’s been relatively well-contained.

“The fact that the Kings were able to shut him down in his own building said a lot,” Roenick said. “But they’re now down, in part, because Connor got his game back.”

McDavid and his mates have been even better than advertised on the power play, where they were only the most efficient team in NHL history this season. They’ve upped their percentage from 32.4% to an incomprehensible 57.1% during the playoffs. And yet here are the Kings, hanging tough for a second straight season in a seven-game series.

“They’ve gone through another year where they haven’t gotten a lot of attention because of other teams that have played really well,” Roenick said. “But the Kings have done a good job of putting themselves in a good position and now they’re playing a team that everybody thinks could possibly win the Cup, and they’ve played them pretty strong.”

The Kings will try to extend their campaign Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena as they seek to stave off elimination and send the series back to Edmonton for a decisive seventh game. They’ll have every player available to them with spark-plug center Blake Lizotte’s return to practice Thursday after missing three games, and were excellent this season with two or more days off, posting a 14-4-1 record in such situations.

Though home ice didn’t offer any assurance in last year’s Game 6, a potential clincher, the Kings have often made good on that advantage, both recently and historically. They had the best home record in the Western Conference this season and hoisted their 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cups on home ice.

“I think the L.A. fans are vastly underrated. People don’t understand how awesome that building can get going and how loud it can be and how passionate they are,” Roenick said.

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Orange County Register

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Jeremy Roenick breaks down Kings vs. Edmonton going into Game 6

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