The Edmonton Oilers advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by beating the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 Wednesday night at Rogers Place. The Oilers win the series in five games, eliminating the Kings in the first round for the third straight season.
The game flow in the first period was similar to Sunday’s fourth game. The Kings outshot the Oilers 10-5, though the Oilers did score first. Evander Kane’s backhand was misplayed by David Rittich and squirted into the net with 9:43 on the clock.
The Kings tied with 28 seconds left in the frame. Stuart Skinner went behind the net to play a dump in, but the puck took a funny bounce off the glass and went in front to Alex Laferriere. He was able to cash in before Skinner scrambled back into position. It was the first goal allowed by Skinner in 114 minutes.
The Kings went ahead 3:08 into the second when Blake Lizotte found some room down the right wing and popped a shot past Skinner’s blocker.
The Oilers power play then took over. Leon Draisaitl blasted a one-timer that Rittich reached back and snared. After video review, it was ruled the puck crossed the line while in Rittich’s glove. Just four seconds after a Kings penalty expired, Draisaitl flicked in a centering pass from Connor McDavid.
In the final minute of the second, only three seconds after a Kings penalty expired, Zach Hyman cleaned up a loose puck in the crease to make it 4-2.
With Rittich pulled for an extra attacker, Adrian Kempe knifed a deflection past Skinner to pull the King within a goal with 2:18 left. However, the Kings could not muster the equalizer.
Evan Bouchard had three assists.
The Oilers will face either Nashville or Vancouver in the second round.
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.