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Leon Draisaitl propels Oilers past Kings, into 2nd in Pacific Division

April 5, 2023

LOS ANGELES — For the Kings, a Pacific Division title and even home ice in the first round of the playoffs drifted further into the horizon on Tuesday night when they were stifled for the second time in less than a week by the Edmonton Oilers, who prevailed 3-1 at Crypto.com Arena.

These two clubs met on March 30, when the Oilers won, 2-0, in Edmonton. In both instances, the victories moved them ahead of the Kings in the standings. Both teams have four games remaining with Edmonton holding a one-point lead. They have split the season series after Edmonton eliminated the Kings from the 2022 postseason. The Kings also trail the Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights, whose overtime loss to the Nashville Predators Tuesday left them four points ahead of the Kings and three up on Edmonton.

Winger Viktor Arvidsson scored the Kings’ only goal. Pheonix Copley snapped his string of nine consecutive decisions with at least one point earned for his team, making 30 saves.

Forwards Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins assisted on each other’s power-play goals before Draisaitl set up defenseman Darnell Nurse’s late empty-netter. Draisaitl’s three points extended his scoring streak to 13 games over which he’s scored 27 points (10 goals) to top the NHL since the surge commenced. Stuart Skinner turned away 20 shots to earn his seventh victory in his past eight appearances.

For Edmonton, the past 11 games have seen them collect 21 of a possible 22 points while wearing the countenance of contenders. For a Kings team that has now allowed two goals or fewer outside of empty-net goals and shootouts in 15 of its past 16 games, the loss was a bitter pill at a moment when the group was ailing for a big win.

“It’s the way it’s going to be against L.A., that’s the way you beat a team like that. We’ve done it twice now and I think it’s good for our group to show to ourselves, and to them, that we can beat them that way,” Edmonton captain Connor McDavid said.

As 96 seconds remained, Nurse’s length-of-the-ice, bank shot off the glass and into an empty net condemned the Kings to defeat.

With 7:20 to play, the Oilers had taken the lead for good with a man-advantage goal. McDavid, the NHL’s leading scorer, waited out defenseman Matt Roy to get a shot on net that created a rebound that Draisaitl narrowly stuffed past defenseman Sean Durzi and Copley.

Skinner was impenetrable for more than five-and-a-half periods, as he shut out the Kings on Thursday and up past the midpoint of Tuesday’s third period. A dump-in and forecheck allowed forward Trevor Moore to recover the puck and slip it to Arvidsson for a one-timer from the blue line, Arvidsson’s 25th goal of the season. But no sooner did he breathe life into the Kings with an equalizer did he take a slashing penalty against McDavid, sending Edmonton to the game-winning power play.

“The timing of penalties comes into play a little bit, too. We just get some energy and some traction, and then we go back to the box,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said.

The Kings buzzed late in the second period. Winger Quinton Byfield had his stick broken, by what he suggested to the official was an unnoticed slash, during a sterling chance. Then center Phillip Danault tested Skinner’s glove, yet they trailed 1-0 at the second intermission just the same.

Winger Adrian Kempe’s partial breakaway at the end of a shift just over six minutes into the period might have been the game’s strongest scoring chance to that point. That was until Edmonton’s third power-play opportunity of the night.

Play broke down after Durzi’s blocked shot led to a board battle. Draisaitl came away with the puck and zipped it across the zone to Nugent-Hopkins for a one-timer, his career-best 36th goal of the season with 8:30 showing on the clock.

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“They rely on their power play an awful lot. They won it with their power play tonight,” McLellan said.

The Oilers have the best power-play conversion rate in the NHL, but they had gone 0 for 11 against the Kings before the goal from Nugent-Hopkins. He, Draisaitl and Connor McDavid are the three most prolific man-advantage players in the NHL.

“Credit to them, they did a lot of good things on their kill and they know our group really well,” said McDavid, who played for McLellan for parts of four seasons in Edmonton. “It’s a game of inches and little battles, and we won just enough to put two in.”

Space was at a premium in the first period with the two sides combining for more than twice as many blocks (12) as shots on goal (five). There was a physical bent to the frame as well, with Edmonton doling out 20 hits. A small skirmish broke out in each of the first two periods, though nothing like the three fights during the Oilers’ last visit to Figueroa Street.

“We know how tight it is in the West. Home ice is a big thing,” defenseman Sean Walker said. “Obviously the guys played these guys last year in Round 1, so it’s something that we’re looking at and we’re going to do everything going forward to make sure we get home ice.”

Orange County Register

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Leon Draisaitl propels Oilers past Kings, into 2nd in Pacific Division

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