Now that long-time Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar is retired, you’d love to pick his brain. 

Anze, remember all those first-round playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers? How did it feel when your penalty kill was absolutely helpless against their power play?

If nothing else, the future first ballot Hall of Famer and this current iteration of the Oil could commiserate together. 

The Anaheim Ducks are giving the Oilers a taste of their own medicine: a dominant power play that overcomes okay five-on-five play. 

In the critical Game 4, Cutter Gauthier’s goal gave them renewed life on the man advantage. Nearing the end of the second period, Mikael Granlund made no mistake to equalize. Suddenly, that two-goal lead on the backs of a great start was erased. 

The Anaheim power play proved again to be a major factor in winning the game, as the best Edmonton could do was simply be even in the game. 

In total, the Ducks are 6-for-12 in the series. In Alberta, we’d call that Oilers-esque. Heck, throw in a gutwrenching, momentum-crushing shorthanded goal in Game 2, and the Ducks are a cool plus-4 on special teams. 

Sound familiar?

“We haven’t been able to get the last save, a clear, a blocked shot, or a loose puck or something like that,” said Kris Knoblauch on Monday, an off-day. “It’s unfortunate. Credit to Anaheim…but we have to find a way to be a little bit better.”

Oilers Special Teams: 

Days of old

Remember the 2023 playoffs? In the last four playoff years, it’s the shortest postseason for the Oilers, but it did feature Jay Woodcroft as the head coach, whose grin walking down the hallway toward the dressing room was captured by ESPN cameras.  

These were the absurd numbers from the opening round against the Los Angeles Kings: 9-for-16 on the power play, 13-for-21 on the penalty kill. The Oilers PK and trips to the penalty box cost them against Vegas in round two. 

In the end, the Oilers were 46 per cent on the power play. 

Anaheim seems to be cooking with similar gas, but the ingredients are different. Two balanced units, each with shooters, are picking corners. Rebounds, screens, tips. 

The unit of Leo Carlsson, Chris Kreider, Mikael Granlund, Troy Terry, and John Carlson has scored three goals. The unit of Mason McTavish, Cutter Gauthier, Alex Killorn, Beckett Sennecke, and Jackson Lacombe has scored three goals. 

But so much has to do with timing. Of the six goals, three have been when the Ducks are trailing, two when tied, and one when ahead. 

Regardless, it’s working, and the Oilers don’t have an answer, slow to close gaps on shooters........

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