Bruce Curlock

2 weeks ago | yardbarker.com | Bruce Curlock

The last time we spoke, the Edmonton Oilers had just delivered a thrilling overtime victory in Game 4, levelling the series against the Los Angeles Kings at two games apiece. Although that contest needed extra time, it was clear midway through the second period that the Oilers had seized control. Edmonton’s aggressive breakout dismantled the Kings’ passive neutral zone forecheck, and their relentless pace with a deeper bench visibly shifted momentum.

2 weeks ago | yardbarker.com | Bruce Curlock

Every playoff year, some commentator somewhere will issue the refrain “the players decide the series.”Often this relates to the officiating, but the comment also comes sometimes about coaching. The various comments all take the shape of the coaches preparing the players, but the players will ultimately determine the games. There is no question that truth resides here. However, in the playoffs, in a seven-game series, coaches can certainly impact the outcome.

2 weeks ago | yardbarker.com | Bruce Curlock

When I was a young hockey player, I had a coach who would run his practices in blue jeans. No, it wasn’t Jason Strudwick. More memorable than my coach wearing denim for a 90-minute practice was him constantly saying to us, “play fast to play slow.”What it meant is something I talked about in the Tactical Preview to this series, which was that the Oilers needed to get into the offensive quickly and then slow down to develop the attack.

3 weeks ago | yardbarker.com | Bruce Curlock

Last night, after the third goal by the Los Angeles Kings, I wrote the following on the social media platform X: The fight she has gone outta the dog. — bcurlock (@bcurlock) April 24, 2025 What did this post mean? It meant the Edmonton Oilers as a team had not learned any lessons from Game 1.

3 weeks ago | yardbarker.com | Bruce Curlock

In our preview of the tactical aspect of the first-round series between the Oilers and Kings, we discussed a lot of what could occur when teams were executing their systems. We did not talk much about the physical and mental preparedness of each team coming into the series. To end the season, the Kings were incredibly healthy. With the exception of Tanner Jeannot, the Kings had run the line-up that played game one for a few weeks.