Optimism: Power Play Production
One of the silver linings from this game was the power play performance for the Los Angeles Kings as they converted two of their power play opportunities in Game 1. The first one came very early in the game as Andrei Kuzmenko connected on a goal off an assist by Kevin Fiala and Adrian Kempe.
Then in the third period, it was Fiala's chance to get the goal and he did so off assists by Adrian Kempe and Andrei Kuzmenko.
In previous playoff series with the Oilers, this was one area that Edmonton dominated and took advantage of against the Kings. Last year, the Kings would actually have no power play goals in five playoff games so getting the one, especially early, should give them some confidence when they have the man advantage.
Over the course of the season, the Kings were pretty average on the power play but got much better later in the season with the addition of Andrei Kuzmenko, who had five power play assists since joining Los Angeles. If the Kings can keep this up, it will definitely help them in this series.