Game 4: Knoblauch tinkers with Oilers' line-up; Kings make change in net (2024)

Playoff Game Day 4:
Edmonton at Los Angeles

The last time David Rittich replaced Cam Talbot in a contest involving the Edmonton Oilers occurred in one of the most storied Battles of Alberta in the current century. But with the former Calgary Flames tandem reuniting in Los Angeles this season, history is about to repeat.

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Rittich is well-known to Oil fans due to his 3+ seasons in Calgary, where he was affectionately referred to as “Big Save Dave” or “Big Sieve Dave”, largely depending on which team’s supporter was making the reference. The brash stopper drew plenty of attention in these parts for his stick flip in a shootout win at Edmonton in early 2020 which set the stage for an epic return match in Calgary days later, ultimately won by the Oilers 8-3. Rittich was blown out of the net that night, but was obliged to return to the game after Talbot got the boot for dropping the (two very different) mitts and fighting it out with then-Oilers netminder Mike Smith. That each had played for the other team just one season previously added to the juicy storyline.

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Since then Rittich has become something of a vagabond, moving on from Calgary to Toronto to Nashville to Winnipeg and finally to Los Angeles, where he has been a very solid backup to Talbot since replacing the injured Pheonix Copley in mid-December. He posted superb numbers of 13-6-3, 2.15, .921 with 3 shutouts, among them a 4-0 whitewash of the Oilers at Crypto.com Arena on Feb 10. He then faced the Oil again in Edmonton 2 weeks later, this time coming out on the short end of a 4-2 decision.

The change is not that surprising given that Talbot has been scorched for 16 goals in the first 3 games of the series, which the Oilers currently lead 2 games to 1. His percentages of 5.30 and .861 so far in the playoffs are a far cry from the rock-solid 2.50 and .913 he posted during the regular season.

Into the breach steps Rittich with plenty to prove. How he fares against the high-scoring Oilers will be a major storyline of tonight’s contest.

Meanwhile, the Oilers will be sticking with their #1 goaltender,Stu Skinner, who had a strong game in backstopping Edmonton to a 6-1 triumph in a rock ’em sock ’em Game 3. Coach Kris Knoblauch will be making one change to the line-up, the first such move of the series to date.

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Tonight’s line-up

Veteran forward Derek Ryan will replace Sam Carrick in the various roles of 4C, first PK unit, and right-shot faceoff whiz. Carrick had his struggles in that latter role on Friday, winning just 4/12=33% including just 1 of 5 vs. Kings captain Anze Kopitar. Every single one of those 12 draws was in the defensive zone, meaning a few too many Kings’ possessions for Knoblauch’s liking. Another contributing factor, perhaps the primary one, is that Carrick took a couple of hard knocks in both Games 2 and 3 that may have left him physically the worse for wear. Not that fans are likely to hear anything official on that front, the traditional Cones of Silence being firmly in place.

For his part Ryan took over 400 draws in 2023-24, winning some 56% of them. That’s especially impressive given over a third of his sorties took place on the penalty kill, where the man on the draw is at a disadvantage.

The 37-year-old was used a little more sparingly in 2023-24, playing 10 fewer games and about a minute less per outing than he had the previous season. He produced modest boxcars of 5-7-12, -3 in 70 games, although in fairness his offensive opportunities were limited. He’s a smart player with a propensity for getting the puck to good places. That will be the expectation for him on Sunday night, along with doing his part on a penalty kill unit that has a 10-for-10 success rate in the series to date.

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Edmonton will continue to rely on its top offensive players to produce at the good end of the sheet, both at 5v5 and on a powerplay that has scored 7 times on 14 opportunities, a rich 50% conversion rate. Last game, the Oilers top 5 forwards — Connor McDavid,Leon Draisaitl,Zach Hyman,Ryan Nugent-Hopkins andEvander Kane— combined to score all 6 goals along with 7 assists. Each had a multi-point game. Depth scoring, nice as it is in theory, proved unnecessary in that particular game.

The challenge for Rittich and the Kings will be to stop those potent scorers. It would seem logical that the hosts avoid time in the sin bin, even as rugged play and borderline hits have been their calling card to this point in the series. It will be interesting to see if they try to rein that in a bit in a crucial game.

First goal remains key. The team that has scored it has won all 3 games to date and never trailed in any of them.

It’s a late one, with puck drop scheduled for 8:50pm MDT.

Recently at the Cult of Hockey

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McCURDY: Time for Oilers to rediscover their defensive chops

STAPLES: Oilers struggling against the rush

Player grades:

• STAPLES: Game 3, Oilers 6 Kings 1
• LEAVINS: Game 2, Kings 5 Oilers 4 (OT)
• McCURDY: Game 1, Oilers 7 Kings 4

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