The Edmonton Oilers’ remarkable turnaround in their first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Kings caught a lot of attention with Hall of Famer Chris Pronger also addressed the stunning win.
After going 2-0 down in the series, the Oilers have surged back with three straight wins to take a 3-2 lead going into Game 6 on Thursday, May 1.
Chris Pronger Praises Edmonton Oilers’ Grit
NHL analyst Pronger, who was a Stanley Cup finalist with the Oilers during his playing career, praised the team’s performances in their last three games. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he claimed that the team’s collective performance, rather than individual brilliance, was responsible for their comeback.
“By committee and players stepping up. Not always pretty, but they are finding a way, which is all that matters. LAK have made some mistakes too, which has led to the Oil coming back in games,” Pronger posted.
The former Hart Trophy-winning defenseman, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015, lauded the Oilers’ 3-1 victory in Game 5 as their best performance yet in the series. It marked the first time the team has won three straight playoff games in a comeback situation.
“I thought tonight, like I said, everybody chipped in…It was probably the best performance, probably this year that we’ve had. And I guess, having said that, it was only a 2-1 game (before an empty-net goal), so it takes everybody,” Oilers forward Zach Hyman said via NHL.com.
Andrei Kuzmenko opened the scoring for the Kings in the 2nd period before Oilers’ left wing Evander Kane tied the game. Mattias Janmark scored his second goal of this playoff series in the 3rd period to give Edmonton the lead before Ryan Nugent-Hopkins put the puck into an empty net to seal the win.
The Kings are now on the verge of being eliminated by the Oilers for the fourth season in a row in the playoffs.
“We’ve had a pretty good season to this point, guys have put in a massive effort thus far. We have to win a game,” Los Angeles coach Jim Hiller told reporters.
“I know it’s a cliché and it doesn’t look very good, but we have to go in and win a hockey game. They took it away from us. We have to go win a hockey game and take it back. That’s the way it goes — there are no tricks here. We’ve proven we’re a pretty good hockey team, so if you’re a pretty good hockey team, go in there and take it back.”
Game 6 will be at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Thursday, May 1.
