LOS ANGELES — Rebuilding a team goes beyond filling roster spots, past finding right-handed-shooting defensemen to pair with left-handed shooters and acquiring role players who fit alongside the franchise’s foundations.
When all goes right — and that’s rarely swift or sure — a rebuilt team naturally develops and rallies around an identity. Players live it, take pride in it. After struggling to end the steep decline that followed their two Stanley Cup championships the Los Angeles Kings have used their first postseason journey since 2018 to create a new identity, one they believe can define them for years to come.
Their resilience served them well during their first-round playoff series against Edmonton, allowing them to bounce back from a pair of two-goal losses and move within a game of winning the series. But the Oilers responded with some resilience of their own on Thursday, pulling out a 4-2 victory on a goal by Tyson Barrie from above the right circle with five minutes and 10 seconds left in the third period. An empty-net goal clinched the win for the Oilers.
