Edmonton spent an extraordinary amount of energy traveling to Los Angeles to avoid the corona tests prescribed by the U.S. authorities. The routines that changed the game had only a positive effect.
When the match series is settled in the playoffs with the best seven-system, it is not worth sticking to the result of an individual match. However, in the previous two matches, Edmonton put the Los Angeles Kings in such a mangle that it is indeed better for the California combination to think carefully about how it will reverse the direction of the match series in Monday morning’s fourth fight.
Two matches, two wins and a goal difference of 14 to 2 tell us about Edmonton’s superiority in matches two and three essentially.
Edmonton now leads the series with 2-1 victories.
If in the opening match in Edmonton Philip Danaultin the Kings brake chain led by Edmonton got the stars of Edmonton in excellent control, since then none of the Kings have had an answer for the Oilers collective. In the last two games, seven different Oilers players have succeeded in scoring, with as many as 14 players scoring.
Edmonton has been able to destabilize Los Angeles with physicality, but on the other hand has clearly won it in a puck game and, above all, in the breadth at which it takes it. With five to five, Edmonton has taken first-place finishes in the previous two games to 31-17 and goals as high as 9-1!
In comparison to the best players, Edmonton has been crushing.
Where, for example, the hat trick on Saturday done Evander Kane has scored five goals in the previous two games, Kings ’No. 1 Center Anze Kopitarin the balance in power statistics is depressing -6. The best players in Los Angeles have to come up fast or the journey ends.
Edmonton has followed the series so far in the role of second guard Mikko Koskinen has been pleased to see.
– Well played. Really good game. We don’t need to change anything in this series to win. As long as we play as we have played here for three months, it will be enough, Koskinen tells Urheilu.
Koskisen’s own everyday life is a little different now that Mike Smith acts as the team’s number one guard.
– It’s only been a week since the previous game. All you can do here is work out well and stay alert if the call comes in at some point.
Special logistics change
Edmonton’s preparations for the third match in the series were quite different from usual. Indeed, Edmonton did not fly directly from Canada to Los Angeles, but first to Vancouver, from where it took a bus. On the bus, the team circled the side of the United States, the state of Washington.
Depending on where you drive from Washington to Vancouver, the journey takes from three to three hours. If you drive all the way to Seattle, the trip easily takes three hours.
– I don’t even know where they flew. I just sat there, Koskinen laughs.
Behind the special logistics solution was the US interest rate regulations. A negative corona test result is required for those flying from Canada, but no cross-border requirement is required for commercial vehicles. In other words, by driving to the U.S. side, the Oilers avoided corona tests.
A similar tactic was reportedly used by Toronto, which flew to Florida after first taking a bus to Buffalo.
– Testing itself is not heavy, but there was a small fear that someone might have a Corona. For many, it has been asymptomatic in the past and they have become ill unknowingly. At least now, no one needs to think about being left out of the game because Koskinen explained.
There is a lot of travel in the NHL and usually the aim is to minimize travel time and maximize the quality of the conditions along with the food in order to save players energy in the game. There is a direct flight from Edmonton to Los Angeles in less than four hours. Now the travel time has at least doubled.
– This was certainly not the optimal situation, but at least everyone is allowed to play now. Mentally, this was easier.
Personally, Koskinen did not start to get stressed about travel arrangements.
– I think everything went smoothly and what was in it while sitting on the bus. At least saw a new bus route. The main thing was that everything got there, Koskinen smiled.
On the positive side, there is no need to resort to similar gimmicks on the return journey, as the Canadian authorities no longer require corona tests for air travelers.