EDMONTON, Alberta — There is a long-standing truism in hockey – that you don’t change or otherwise mess with a winning formula.
Especially in the playoffs.
The exception is when you have a skilled playmaker who happened to score 23 goals in the regular season on deck and ready to go for Game 2.
Hello, Gabe Vilardi.
Vilardi’s regular-season output came in just 63 games and with the absence of the injured Kevin Fiala, the Kings need all the goal-scoring they can get. If you are looking for a goal, you might get it from Vilardi, and at different times this season, he was one of their top goal scorers, a viable option whereas others contribute on a different level.
In October, for example, he had eight goals in the first 11 games and wrapped up the month with goals in four straight games.
Playing against one of the most dynamic offensive teams in the league, Vilardi might give you something at even strength or on the second power-play unit. The only Kings players to score more goals than Vilardi during the regular season were Adrian Kempe (41), Anze Kopitar (28) and Viktor Arvidsson (26). Fiala had 23 goals in 69 games.
With the lineup change, it wasn’t as though the Kings were taking out someone who had played big minutes in the season opener. The odd-man out for Game 2 was forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan who played just under seven minutes in Game 1, the lowest among the Kings forwards and the only player to log less than 10 minutes of ice time.
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This was Vilardi’s first action since March 26, having been sidelined with an upper-body injury.
Vilardi was slotted in on the third line with center Blake Lizotte and Alex Iafallo, the overtime hero in the series opener. The other tweak involved dropping forward Arthur Kaliyev down to the fourth line with Carl Grundstrom and center Rasmus Kupari. Kaliyev played 15:44 in the series opener and had one shot on goal.
ICE CHIPS
The Oilers countered with changes of their own – going with an 11-forward, seven-defensemen lineup, which was not an unusual look for them this season. Defenseman Philip Broberg drew in and center Mattias Janmark was scratched. Janmark did not take part in the morning skate (foot injury), having blocked a shot in Game 1.
Broberg, the eighth pick overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, played in one playoff game during the Oilers’ run last year, Game 6 in the first round against the Kings.