EDMONTON — Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid both scored in regulation as well as the shootout as the Edmonton Oilers earned a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night.
Edmonton captured a second straight victory to move to within a point of Los Angeles for second in the Pacific Division.
McDavid added an assist to get to 100 points, Cody Ceci also scored and Mikko Koskinen had 38 saves for the Oilers (38-25-5) who have won eight straight on home ice.
Alexander Edler, Quinton Byfield and Carl Grundstrom replied for the Kings (36-23-10) who have lost three of their last four games.
Los Angeles started the scoring three minutes into the game with a goal on its first shot. Edler floated a shot from the point that ticked a defender and got past Koskinen.
Edmonton tied the contest less than four minutes later as Ceci walked in and sent a wrist shot glove side past Kings goalie Jonathan Quick.
The Oilers went up 2-1 with two minutes to play in the opening frame. Zach Hyman muscled a backhanded pass through the crease to Draisaitl, who chipped in his 49th goal of the season, tying Toronto’s Auston Matthews for the league lead.
Five minutes into the second, McDavid notched his league-leading 100th point, sending a pass from behind the net that bounced in off of Alex Iafallo. It’s the fifth time in his career that McDavid has hit the century mark, becoming the 19th player in NHL history to achieve the milestone.
The joy in Edmonton was short-lived, however, as the Kings came storming back on a pair of Oilers giveaways.
Just 47 seconds later, Byfield created his own space and ripped a shot past Koskinen. And 14 seconds after that, the Kings made it 3-3 when Grundstrom stole a puck in a battle in front of the net and scored his eighth.
Edmonton looked to have regained the lead not long but had a goal taken back for goaltender interference.
There was no scoring in the third period or a frantic overtime session.
The Kings are right back at it Thursday as they head to Calgary to face the Flames. The Oilers host the St. Louis Blues on Friday.
Notes: The Kings have more than their fair share of injuries at the moment, missing Blake Lizotte (upper body), Matt Roy (lower body), Dustin Brown (upper body), Andreas Athanasiou (upper body), Drew Doughty (upper body), Mikey Anderson (upper body) and Brendan Lemieux (lower body)… The Oilers were only without Kris Russell, who is on COVID-19 protocol.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 30, 2022.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 30, 2022.
Shane Jones, The Canadian Press