Was so impressed with Drai's defensive play this game and in the series thus far. He's such a two-way beast when he decides to be. This is the Drai we need if we're gonna win. Stu was obviously fantastic. This is not the same Stu as last season when he was a rookie. This guy finished 3rd in the entire league in wins among goalies. Deharnais, also a beast. Great to see us grind out a 1-0 playoff win.

The start time for these games is ridiculous, workmanship in Oil Country is going to be pretty crappy this week! Kudos to you both for staying up to record the C.O.H. I had to laugh Bruce, I was going to mention the shots but thought no thats just being petty and then you mentioned it. In fact the Oilers best scoring chance in the first, a shot by Drai where Rittich made a great toe save did not register as a shot...I guess they thought it was going wide...yes the Kings carried the majority of the play but the shot clock was no where near accurate!

Glad to see the Oilers finally putting on their best defensive hockey players, regardless of the lines, when trying to close out a game. Here we go Oilers...Here we go! (Followed by two hand claps) What is good about this old cheer from the eighties, is that the other team's fans cannot interrupt!!

You’re right David. Watching from Cape Breton,Nova Scotia as an Oilers fan the games can be pretty late. Both LA games were 11:30p.m start local time. Still never miss one! Lets Go Oil!!

Leon is the best in so many ways! Doesnt get enough credit

What a game one goal only ,but exciting all the way ,skinner had a great game

My favorite nhl podcast!

You know darn well everybody comes here for the true story after all the kids have had their fun.

You almost have to wonder if the Building Superintendant of the arena in LA deliberately kept the temperature warm in order to keep the local fans comfortable instead of being concerned with the condition of the ice surface. This simply isn't acceptable in any game of ice hockey and it should be up to the managers of the NHL to ensure that good ice is mandatory in every arena where an NHL game is being played. And, if the local fans don't like it despite the fact that ice hockey is considered as a winter sport (especially in cities that have warm climates), then the best solution would be to move the franchise to a more northern locality.

Skinner was in a zone alright. Hope he can keep playing like that.

Good job boys!

I wonder if it wasn't a strategy to keep the score close so that the Kings would think they had a chance to win and actually play hockey, instead of the constant slewfoots and dirty hits that happen when LA thinks the game is out of reach.

Wow! What a game. I felt good about the Oilers pretty well right from the start. They really came through adversity, a lot of smart hockey, to win this one

wow, 10/10 from David. he must be in a good mood

As for Nuge's play- remember the games are starting wayyy past his bedtime.

Long post follows with base game statistics including some for the LA Kings. Read, don't read, up to you. These are BASE stats not detailed ones like the Cult of Hockey provides. My comments at the end. Statistics for Edmonton Oilers at LA Kings April 28th, 2024 Playoffs Round 1, Game 4 Oilers 1, LA 0 (Oilers Lead Series 3-1) Oilers: Bouchard 1 Goal (PP, GWG) Draisaitl 1 Primary Assist (PP, GWG) McDavid 1 Secondary Assist (PP, GWG) Skinner 33 Saves on 33 Shots = 1.000 Save %age (perfect) Kings: Riddich 12 Saves on 13 Shots = .923 Save %age (really good) Oilers Kings Shots on Goal 13 33 Hits 27 41 Faceoffs Won 26 22 PP 1/1 0/1 Giveaways 6 (4 per NST) 3 (2 per NST) Takeaways 5 2 Blocked Shots 19 (15 per NST) 17 (13 per NST) 3 Stars: 3-Riddich (.923 Save %age), 2-Skinner (1.000 Shutout), 1-Bouchard (GWG on the PP) Oilers Player Stats: Player TOI SOG +/- PIM Hits Blocks Giveaways Takeaways Ceci 22:35 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 Bouchard 22:27 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 Ekholm 21:16 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 Nurse 20:14 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 Desharnais 17:21 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 Kulak 15:22 0 0 2 1 2 0 0 McDavid 21:57 1 0 0 2 3 0 1 Draisaitl 20:27 3 0 0 0 3 0 2 Nuge 18:19 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 Hyman 17:10 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 Henrique 17:10 0 0 0 5 2 0 0 Kane 16:23 2 0 0 2 0 1 1 McLeod 15:05 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Perry 11:47 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Janmark 10:51 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Foegele 10:33 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 Ryan 9:38 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 Holloway 9:25 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 Oilers Faceoffs Won Lost Percent Draisaitl 11 7 61.1 McDavid 10 9 52.6 McLeod 3 4 42.9 Ryan 1 1 50.0 Nuge 1 0 100.0 Holloway 0 1 0.00 Kings Faceoffs Won Lost Percent Kopitar 10 8 55.6 Dubois 8 3 72.7 Danault 2 7 22.2 Moore 1 0 100.0 Byfield 1 1 50.0 Lizotte 0 3 0.00 Lewis 0 1 0.00 Laferriere 0 1 0.00 Arvidsson 0 2 0.00 Oilers proved they can win a 1-0 game and hold a single goal game lead for over a period. Riddich did better than Talbot in net (though the guys in front of him probably were playing better too). MUCH MUCH more disciplined game with each team getting 1 power play (that the Oilers converted on and the Oilers PK stayed at 100% by denying the Kings). Oilers now lead the series 3-1 and head back home for game 5 in Edmonton on Wednesday (so a longer break to give a bit more recovery time or work on little things). As Bouchard said in the postgame, they didn't take ANY Shortcuts. One more to round two. Now just to win it. Take care all.

Stressful game. D and Skinny looked great. D didn’t give up a lot of grade A shots.

Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup is the prophecy.

Nuge plays with more of an edge if he's pissed off at something. Problem is, he rarely gets pissed off.

Its a 100% win rate for the team who scores first in this series.

I thought Foegele was better tonight but MacDavid did almost nothing in the offensive zone. If MacDavid didn't get a 6/10 then he'll never get a 6.

The guys must have gotten scolded by Bettman, when asked last night they were pretty diplomatic about the ice. Even Bieksa didn't say much about it last night.

A 1-0 playoff win in regulation time, a sign of a maturing team, at long last.

Nuge last 16 playoffs games 3 goal need more from him

I’m going to game 5, here’s to hoping they close that puppy out.

Bieksa? You must be joking.

It's nice to see Baldy and Beardsley so happy!! I talked to Bettman and he does not want Edmonton in the finals. Americans don't watch the Oilers. So enjoy while you can in the conference final the fix will be in!!!

Oilers should concentrate on playing defense first, our opportunities will eventually come like last night. Plus we have more skill players and scorers who can finish which imo will put us over the top.

I'm in the minority in that I wasn't overly pleased with what transpired. They were literally getting their asses handed to them most of the game. 2 weak penalty calls, 1 of which decided the game (something you know the NHL DIDN'T want to happen tonight) yet blatant stuff missed. I saw numerous bad passes/giveaways. Bad icings. The physicality, or lack thereof, really pissed me off. These guys can't allow themselves to be pushed around anymore or we'll start losing bodies. Perry really needs to do what he does, better. Kane isn't quite there. Anyway, glad to have Skinner stand on his head and hopefully he can do the same next game while the guys wake up.

Thanks David for extending the Brucccccceee name..

I'm in the vast minority again I'm sure when I say that I think the Oilers were very lucky that Skinner was able to steal a win that otherwise wasn't even close to deserved. They played great, got a goal, and then slid into a lets not exert ourselves pond hockey style. 13 shots? If this game had ended 3-1 LA, fans wouldn't be calling this a well played game would they. I was hoping Knob would call a time out with 8 mins left and give them a pep talk about the dangers of taking the foot off the gas and letting your Goalie do all the work. But alas. They won, that's great, but try that vs Avs or Dallas or Vegas and it won't be a good result. I rate this game as 2 smelly lemons and a wheelchair with a magic wand.🍋🍋🦼🪄