The Kings and Edmonton Oilers are outdated postseason foes, with this first-round matchup marking their eleventh assembly within the Stanley Cup playoffs. However with Wednesday’s 6-2 win in Recreation 2 of the best-of-seven sequence, the Kings have accomplished one thing they’d by no means completed.
They’ve taken a 2-0 lead.
The Kings, who’ve but to path within the sequence, acquired two objectives from Adrian Kempe and scores from Brandt Clarke, Quinton Byfield, Andrei Kuzmenko and Anze Kopitar, with Clarke, Kuzmenko and Kopitar all scoring on the ability play.
Leon Draisaitl and former King Viktor Arvidsson acquired the objectives for Edmonton, which has been outscored 12-7 within the two video games.
The win was the Kings’ NHL-best thirty third at dwelling, however now they’ll go on the highway, the place that they had a shedding report this season. Edmonton will play host to Recreation 3 on Friday and Recreation 4 on Sunday. Recreation 5, if mandatory, will probably be at Crypto.com Area on Tuesday.
After profitable a Recreation 1 shootout through which the groups mixed for 11 objectives — seven within the closing 20 minutes 6 seconds — the Kings went in entrance to remain in Recreation 2 on Clarke’s first profession playoff aim 8:44 into the primary interval. And so they acquired assist from an sudden supply.
Winger Evander Kane, who was making his season debut for the Oilers, was on the ice simply 95 seconds earlier than drawing a cross-checking penalty, giving the Kings the person benefit. And Clarke made the Oilers pay, deflecting in a go from former Oiler Warren Foegele for the power-play aim.
Anze Kopitar scores previous Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner within the third interval of Recreation 2.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Instances)
Byfield then doubled the margin shortly after the primary intermission earlier than Kuzmenko made it 3-0 with one other power-play aim halfway via the second interval.
The Kings have scored 5 instances with the person benefit within the two video games whereas holding Edmonton’s energy play scoreless in 5 tries. In final 12 months’s playoff loss to the Oilers, the Kings had been 0 for 12 on the ability play and killed simply 11 of 20 Edmonton energy performs.
Draisaitl acquired Edmonton on the board, scoring on a deflection at 13:54 of the second. It was the second aim of the sequence for Draisaitl, who led the league with 52 in an injury-shortened season.
Draisaitl’s second-period aim in Recreation 1 helped the Oilers rally from a 4-0 deficit, solely to lose 6-5. His Recreation 2 aim began one other rally, and Arvidsson’s tip-in 4 minutes into the third interval made it a one-goal sport.
Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper stops the puck within the third interval of Recreation 2.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Instances)
However the comeback stalled there with Kempe and Kopitar answering with objectives lower than three minutes aside to revive order. After Kopitar’s power-play aim the Oilers pulled goaltender Stuart Skinner and changed him with Calvin Pickard, who gave up a aim to Kempe on the primary shot he confronted.
Kempe had two assists to go together with his two objectives whereas Kopitar had three assists.
The Kings and Oilers, who’re assembly within the first spherical for a fourth straight season, break up the opening two video games every of the final three years earlier than Edmonton went on to win the sequence. The final time a crew gained the primary two video games was in 1990, when Edmonton gained 4 straight.
