Oilers focus on better start for Game 3 vs. Kings

They know the answers.

The concepts of playing a full 60 minutes and eliminating mistakes dotted the mantras spouted to media in the Edmonton Oilers dressing room following morning skate Friday in Los Angeles ahead of Game 3 in their first-round National Hockey League playoff series against the Kings.

Now the Oilers — overtime losers of Game 2 in Edmonton — have to find a way to follow their own advice to tame the Kings on the latter's home ice the next two games.

"We're still trying to give up two goals or less, of course, but the other teams are good, too," Oilers star Leon Draisaitl said Friday.

"They're going to figure out ways to score, and there's going to be a bounce every once in a while, but I think all-in-all, we can do a bit better of a job keeping the puck out of our net."

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Draisaitl said he thought the Oilers defended fairly well in the Kings' 5-4 OT win to tie the series 1-1 while giving up "a couple too many odd-man rushes" and falling victim to "a couple of very unfortunate bounces."

"That's the way the playoffs work sometimes, and you've got to regroup and find little things to improve on," he said.

Those unfortunate-for-the-Oilers bounces included Anze Kopitar's winning goal at 2:07 of overtime off a mid-ice tip by a tied-up Quinton Byfield. The puck fluttered straight to a streaking Kopitar, who beat Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner over the shoulder.

Adrian Kempe's second tally of the game, too, counts as a play of fortune. The first-line Kings winger batted the puck out of mid-air past Skinner on a backhand pass from Kopitar late in the first period.

Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said a strong first period would be "imperative" to his team's chances in Game 3. The Kings led Game 2 3-1 after the first period and never trailed on the scoreboard Wednesday night at Rogers Place.

"We got behind in the first period (in Game 2) which made it really difficult to come from behind against one of the best defensive teams in the NHL this regular season," Knoblauch told media.

"A lot of credit to our players sticking with it and playing hard and getting the opportunity to possibly win that game, but the first period is going to be very important, especially coming into this building. We've seen it twice this year coming in here how strong they've started."

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It's not to say there aren't positive signs for the Oilers from Game 2.

Oilers defenceman Brett Kulak, who scored in the loss, is right when he said Friday said he feels the Oilers "haven't spent a lot of time in the (defensive) zone," with Edmonton spending 37.9 per cent of ice time through two games in their own end compared to 43.8 per cent for Los Angeles.

"That that kind of thing pays off later as the series goes on, too," Kulak said, adding he felt like the Oilers "had a lot of possession time with the puck," although the Kings lead in that statistical department (51.77% to 48.23% shot-attempt percentage, which measures offensive zone puck possession) through the two games.

"You get a lot more tired when you're playing (a lot) in your own end every game, and we haven't done too much of that so far."