Kings' Hiller: 'We should have won the series' after taking early lead
Los Angeles Kings head coach Jim Hiller lamented how his club let a promising 2-0 series lead over the Edmonton Oilers slip away after being eliminated Thursday night.
"100%, it's a missed opportunity. It's very clear it's a missed opportunity for us," Hiller said, per NHL.com's Gerry Moddejonge. "Especially when we had great buy-in from our players. We believe we could have won the series, we believe we should have won the series.
"We didn't, so that's the bottom line. We had our chances to get it done, didn't get it done."
The Kings appeared ready to flip the narrative against their Pacific Division rivals after a commanding 6-2 victory in Game 2. The Oilers responded by winning the next four contests, outscoring the Kings 20-12 in the process, to eliminate Los Angeles in the first round for the fourth consecutive year.
"This one's tough to swallow, obviously. Having the season we had, and to have the guys in this locker room and come up short again, it's frustrating," Kings captain Anze Kopitar said. "This one hurts a little more.
"Especially having home ice, and off to a good start with winning the first two games and then just not being able to close games out. It cost us."
The Kings finished the season with 105 points, four clear of the Oilers. Los Angeles was one of the league's best teams from Jan. 1 onward, ranking sixth in the NHL with a 27-15-4 record.
The franchise hasn't won a playoff series since winning the Stanley Cup in 2014.