Woodcroft calls out Oilers' penalty kill after loss to Kings
Published
The Edmonton Oilers allowed four power-play goals in Monday's 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, while going for 0-for-6 with the man advantage themselves.
Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft sounded off on the team's penalty killing after the loss, stating their performance had more to do with the loss than the lack of success at the other end.
"I thought there were some very good looks that we got to, and we weren't sharp enough on our offensive opportunities, and that's going to happen some nights," Woodcroft said. "Our power play has operated at the level it has this season, it's going to happen.
"How about the penalty kill step up and take care of the other team's power play? If that would have happened, I think we wouldn't be talking about our lack of production."
The Kings went 4-for-7 on the power play Tuesday, dropping the Oilers' penalty kill success rate to 72.7 per cent on the season - sixth worst in the NHL.
Despite being held without a goal against the Kings, the Oilers continue to own the league's best power play, converting on 31 per cent of their opportunities.
"I thought 5-on-5 we were getting some looks, but we ran into penalty problems, and we essentially lost the game on special teams," forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "Usually we're putting some in [on the power play], but tonight, we couldn't find it.
"I think they got four on theirs, and it's tough to win a game when you're giving up four like that, other than us matching it on the power play."
The Oilers were outshot 38-31 by the Kings on the night and replaced starter Stuart Skinner with Jack Campbell after he allowed three goals on the first 24 shots of the game. Campbell allowed two goals on 11 shots in relief.
Edmonton fell to 21-18-3 with the divisional loss and continue to cling to the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The streaking Nashville Predators sit just one point back of the Oilers with three games in hand, while the defending champion Colorado Avalanche sit two points back with four games in hand.
The Oilers will continue their road trip Wednesday against the Anaheim Ducks before facing the San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights to end the week.