EDMONTON — Leon Draisaitl scored twice, Evan Bouchard had three assists, and the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 Wednesday to win their first-round, best-of-seven NHL playoff sequence in 5 video games.
EDMONTON — Leon Draisaitl scored twice, Evan Bouchard had three assists, and the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 Wednesday to win their first-round, best-of-seven NHL playoff sequence in 5 video games.
Edmonton eradicated Los Angeles within the opening spherical for the third yr in a row after popping out on high in six video games in 2023 and 7 in 2022.
Zach Hyman — along with his seventh of the post-season — and Evander Kane additionally scored for Edmonton. The Oilers’ solely lack of the sequence was a 5-4 time beyond regulation determination in Recreation 2.
Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins pitched in with two assists every as Edmonton’s offence broke out at Rogers Place. McDavid prolonged his factors whole to a playoff-leading 12 (one objective, 11 assists).
Stuart Skinner made 18 saves after posting a shutout in Edmonton’s 1-0 win at Los Angeles in Recreation 4.
Adrian Kempe, Alex Laferriere and Blake Lizotte replied for Los Angeles. David Rittich stopped 22 pictures in his second straight begin.
The Oilers transfer on to the second spherical, the place they’ll face the winner of a matchup between the Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators. Vancouver leads their sequence 3-2 heading into Recreation 6 on Friday in Nashville.
Down 2-1 within the second interval, the Oilers scored three unanswered objectives to take 4-2 lead.
Draisaitl opened his account with a power-play objective at 7:44 after a pair exchanges with McDavid to tie it. Rittich appeared to rob Draisaitl with a desperation glove save, however followers cheered as if it had been a objective upon seeing the replay and officers dominated the puck crossed the road after video assessment.
The red-hot Oilers energy play went 1-for-4 however scored twice simply after time expired on a penalty. Edmonton completed 9-for-19 with the man-advantage within the sequence. Los Angeles was 0-for-1, going scoreless on 12 energy performs within the sequence.
McDavid and Draisaitl linked once more simply after a penalty expired at 12:21 for the German ahead’s fifth of the playoffs.
The undisciplined Kings put Edmonton up a person once more close to the top of the body. This time, Hyman tapped house a puck on the objective line moments after Kings ahead Pierre-Luc Dubois stepped out of the field.
The Oilers hunkered down to carry off the Kings a lot of the third. However with the goalie pulled, Kempe deflected a shot previous Skinner with 2:18 left to trim the deficit to at least one.
The Kings pressured for an equalizer within the ultimate two minutes till Phillip Danault hooked Draisaitl with 19.7 seconds left — sending Edmonton on an influence play and squashing L.A.’s possibilities of a comeback.
Followers cheered to the their high of their lungs and chanted “Let’s Go Oilers” to offer a raucous environment earlier than puck drop, however Los Angeles stymied Edmonton early.
The Kings restricted the Oilers to a paltry 13 pictures in Sunday’s 1-0 loss and had the identical sport plan working early, holding Edmonton to at least one shot via 10 minutes of the sport.
Kane, nevertheless, opened the scoring on Edmonton’s second shot of the night time at 10:17 with a mushy backhand that slipped previous Rittich — a objective he’d seemingly need again.
Los Angeles replied with 28 seconds left within the first when the puck caromed across the boards and bounced in entrance of the web to Laferriere, who shot into an open internet with Skinner out to play the puck.
Lizotte then scored 3:08 into the second to provide Los Angeles its solely lead of the sport and quiet Rogers Place, the place you may hear a pin drop earlier than Edmonton replied with an onslaught.
It’s the primary time the Oilers have superior from the primary spherical in three straight years since 1990 to 1992.
The Oilers fell 4-2 within the second spherical to the eventual Stanley Cup-champion Vegas Golden Knights final yr.
McMAKING HISTORY
McDavid turned the sixth participant to file 10 or extra assists via the primary 5 video games of the playoffs — and the primary in almost 30 years. Draisaitl joined McDavid and Sidney Crosby because the third lively participant to file 10 factors in 4 or extra playoff sequence.
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Could 1, 2024.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
