LOS ANGELES -- In another pivotal divisional matchup, the Kings failed to match the Oilers' urgency Thursday night, losing 8-1.
The Kings have lost back-to-back games to Pacific Division opponents coming out of the Olympic break. With the Oilers holding onto third place by a point in the Pacific Division and the Kings chasing the Kraken in the wildcard spot coming into tonight, this was a chance for the Kings to make up some ground in a crucial part of the season.
“These two games were really important with division teams,” Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson said. “But again, you get on a stretch, everyone can catch fire, I know we have a group in here that can do it.”
The Oilers secured a 2-1 lead after the first period and broke the game open in the second period, scoring three unanswered goals that started the rout.
The Kings started the third period with some chippiness from Jeff Malott in an attempt to spark a comeback, but would be answered with another power-play goal from Leon Draisaitl.
After the Oilers scored to expand the lead to 7-1 and 8-1, a couple of “Fire Miller” chants briefly broke out throughout Crypto.com Arena.
“My focus is trying to win on Saturday,” head coach Jim Hiller said when asked about his job security. “We sign up for this job. I think you’re probably always concerned when you get a job in the coaching world, so that’s just something that’s always tucked away. But what overrides all that is trying to get your team to win games.”
After acquiring Artemi Panarin and a brief reset with the Olympic break, the Kings now face a narrowing path toward playoff contention in the final stretch of the season.
"24 [games] seems like a lot, but we gotta get on track here real, real quick," Anze Kopitar said. "It's obviously getting to a point where teams on the outside looking in, the chances are slimming down if you're not on the inside."