LOS ANGELES — The easy thing to do with the Los Angeles Kings dealing with the Edmonton Oilers for the first time since a third straight loss to their playoff nemesis is to draw some kind of line between Saturday’s matchup and if something in it will change the narrative in some way.
The reality is you really can’t. Win or lose, it’s a regular-season game in late December. Perhaps there will be more meaning in the three other clashes, particularly when they get together twice over a nine-day span in April when playoff positioning could be at stake. But the perception of the Kings and whether they can take down the Oilers for once when it really counts won’t be different until they do it — and a fourth straight collision course is on tap just by glancing at the current Pacific Division standings.
Still, there was the first game to play since the Oilers dusted them off in five games last spring. Quinton Byfield’s impressive second snipe of the game gave the Kings an uplifting finish and the 4-3 overtime victory will keep a group that’s responded well to Jim Hiller’s positivity and connective personality moving forward. It’s fair to say that this 20-10-5 team has surprised all who forecasted the worst when another playoff defeat was followed by an unremarkable offseason and then Drew Doughty going down with a broken ankle in his first preseason appearance.
But the major moves that were made by general manager Rob Blake and his staff have so far paid off. Byfield’s two goals against the Oilers and his surge of late — five goals and two assists in the last six games — have made him look more like the $6.25 million center Blake extended him at. His three-point night will draw most of the headlines. More games like that against Edmonton will help the Kings close the gap and tip the scales more in their direction. As will the continued terrific play of his unheralded linemate.
Warren Foegele wasn’t a sexy name in free agency. A sturdy forward who made a name for himself as a versatile hard worker over seven prior NHL seasons, Foegele signed a modest three-year deal worth $10.5 million after hitting career highs of 20 goals and 41 points with the Oilers last season. He was part of the Edmonton teams that ushered those three first-round exits on L.A. He’s now playing a big role for a Kings club desperate to break its playoff hex.
Foegele’s work ethic is infectious and Hiller has hit on something in putting him with Byfield and Tanner Jeannot on a highly effective third line. The trio put on a tenacious show Saturday as they combined on all three Kings goals in regulation. Lines are altered throughout a season and who knows if they remain together months from now, but it was the kind of performance that they will need in the postseason when Anze Kopitar and Phillip Danault have their hands full trying to contain Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Hiller wouldn’t go as far as to say Foegele-Byfield-Jeannot define them and what they want to be as a team but when they’re clicking like they are now, it looks and feels like a line that represents their identity.
“I think that line in particular is very tenacious, Hiller said. “Jeano doesn’t skate as quick as Q and Foegs but he’s tenacious. He’s on pucks. He’s physical. If you notice, Q was really physical tonight, too, so he added that element. He has that element. He doesn’t bring it consistently enough. Tonight, he did.
“That line was really good. It’s the best they’ve played all year, there’s no question.”
Foegele’s diligence in doing the little extra on his shifts is making him extremely noticeable in his first Kings season. Take Byfield’s first goal, an impressive roof job over Stuart Skinner’s left shoulder. It doesn’t happen if Foegele doesn’t fend off the Oilers’ Ty Emberson with the puck enough for Byfield to get it and then use that space that Foegele created in drawing the defender over.
Los Angeles goal!
Scored by Warren Foegele with 02:25 remaining in the 1st period.
Assisted by Jordan Spence and Quinton Byfield.
Los Angeles: 2
Edmonton: 1#EDMvsLAK #GoKingsGo #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/NWkHvfeMbk— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) December 28, 2024
Later in the first period, Foegele got his own goal on another tremendous shift by the line. The result was a swing of his stick after Jordan Spence’s pass hit an Edmonton defender, but he was hanging around the net for the extra chance after moving the puck along twice with his linemates to keep the possession going. And after the Oilers scored twice in the second — one by former Kings winger Viktor Arvidsson — Foegele started a great passing play with Spence that was capped by Jeannot’s tap-in for a 3-3 tie in the third.
The Oilers appreciated him no doubt as he did solid, no-frills work for them. He’d spent a good deal of time skating with Draisaitl last season and that did play a role in posting his career numbers. But the Kings are playing him more and with 10 goals and 11 assists with some runway left before the midpoint of the season, he’s on pace to top his 2023-24 numbers.
Afterward, Foegele joked that “a couple of those guys on the ice were asking why I’m out there for OT” after Hiller put him out there with Byfield against McDavid and Draisaitl. But that was another shot of confidence applied by the coach. The duo was having a great game, and they got rewarded for it.
“Jimmy’s been crucial for me, giving me that voice of confidence,” Foegele said. “Believing in me. I haven’t really had a coach that fully entrusts me in my whole time in the league. I think a big reason for my individual success is from Jimmy giving me that confidence. That’s by putting me in roles that maybe I hadn’t done in the past. It’s good to get his trust and just try to build off that.”
Added inspiration doesn’t hurt. Parting with the Oilers wasn’t on acrimonious terms by any means. Foegele was teamed again with coach Kris Knoblauch after playing for him in junior with the OHL’s Erie Otters. Besides, who wouldn’t want to play with two of the top five players in the NHL? He had also earned a raise but knew that it priced him out of Edmonton’s financial puzzle.
“Whenever you play your former team, you’re even more excited, right?” Foegele said. “There’s no question the juice was going for me today. It just feels really nice to get that win. We stuck through it the whole game. We needed everyone to contribute, and we did. Guys backchecking. Guys blocking shots. Those are the recipe to win hockey games.”
Now Foegele might be a link that was missing when it comes to the Kings against his former team. Hiller loves how competitive he is to go with the winger’s 6-foot-2, 204-pound frame and powerful skating. But there’s plenty more that the coach has come to see.
“What I’ve come to really appreciate and getting to know him is what kind of a student of the game he is,” Hiller said. “ … Hockey is so important to him and it means a lot to him that he does well. He really has a lot of pride in his game. Probably end up coaching someday, I would think, the type of personality (he has). That’s what I’ve come to appreciate.
“We didn’t know that about him when you sign a guy. I just think he’s embraced the role. Maybe a bigger role than he’s had in the past and he’s really ran with it.”
The partnership with Byfield is something Foegele is also running with. They’re both from the greater Toronto area and have known each other for a few years. Their bond has tightened to where they’re not turned off by some frank talk when it’s necessary. And their like-minded approach is just what the Kings need when trying to conquer their two-headed nightmare — which they could see again in their postseason dreams.
“You know I like to play fast,” Foegele said. “I think a big part of it too is just like off the ice. Knowing him from Toronto, it makes me feel a little bit more comfortable when I first came here. He was one of the guys that I knew. We’re pretty good friends. I find when you build that chemistry off the ice, it’s easier to be harder on each other on the ice. Having those difficult conversations and just keeping each other real.
“We’ve stepped it up the last couple games, we both. And Jeano, too. We got to keep it going because there’s a lot of hockey left and points are crucial.”
(Photo: Gary A. Vasquez / Imagn Images)
