At 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, Blake Lizotte is the smallest player on either side of the Kings-Oilers playoff series.
Unlike Oilers superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who are former first-round draft picks and Hart Trophy winners, Lizotte has had to fight to keep his place in the NHL. Undrafted out of high school, he played first in the amateur USHL before going to college, then went undrafted again before signing an entry-level contract with the Kings.
But if McDavid, arguably the best player in the NHL, typifies the skill and grace with which the high-flying Oilers play, then Lizotte represents the blue-collar, lunch-bucket approach that defines the Kings.
“That’s our identity,” said Lizotte, who centers the Kings’ fourth line. “Look at their two guys over there, 100-plus points. We don’t even have a 90-point guy. I think that’s part of our team identity, to play a little more grinder-ish.”
Read more: After consecutive home losses, Kings left grasping for any shreds of hope vs. Oilers
So what if the Kings are a loss away from elimination entering Game 5 of their best-of-seven first-round Western Conference series Wednesday in Edmonton? If you’re a grinder, odds don’t matter. Lizotte’s very presence in the NHL proves that grit and tenacity can overcome glamour and talent.
And if the Kings are to come back from a 3-1 series deficit, the undersized Lizotte will have to play an outsized role.
“The playoffs usually are a grind. So you have to make sure that you play that style,” Kings interim coach Jim Hiller said. “We just have to play it better.”
The Kings scored only once in two home games and are on the brink of losing a first-round series to the Oilers for the third consecutive season. In 2022, they lost in seven games. In 2023, they lost in six games. Another loss Wednesday, and they’ll be out in five.
The Kings aren’t progressing, they’re going backward — and blame for their regression can be shared.
Trevor Moore, the Kings’ leading goal scorer in the regular season, has scored only once in the playoffs. Anze Kopitar has a goal and two assists, but all of his points came in the same game. And center Pierre Luc-Dubois, the team’s big offseason signing, has been credited with only one shot in the last three games.
Quinton Byfield, one of the few Kings who has…