Los Angeles scores 3 straight in 3rd period to pull away, extend lead in Western 1st Round
Oilers at Kings | Recap | Round 1, Game 2
LOS ANGELES — Adrian Kempe had two goals and two assists, Anze Kopitar had a goal and three assists, and the Los Angeles Kings extended their lead in the Western Conference First Round with a 6-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 2 at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday.
Brandt Clarke and Andrei Kuzmenko each scored on the power play for the Kings, who went 3-for-5 with the man-advantage and are 5-for-10 through two games. Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves.
“We got home ice, we battled hard for it, we wanted to take advantage, so we’re happy so far with getting the two (wins),” Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson said.
EDM@LAK, Gm2: Kempe rips in a shot from the circle to extend the lead
Leon Draisaitl and Viktor Arvidsson scored for the Oilers, who failed to score in three power-play opportunities and are 0-for-5 through two games. Stuart Skinner allowed five goals on 28 shots before being replaced midway through the third period by Calvin Pickard, who allowed one goal on three shots.
“Well, (special teams) becomes more magnified. One team is scoring, the other team’s not, it’s more magnified,” Oilers forward Corey Perry said. “The team that’s scoring is probably the team that’s [going to] win, so we’ll look at that.”
Game 3 of the best-of-7 series will be in Edmonton on Friday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, TVAS2, TNT, truTV, MAX, FDSNW).
Clarke put Los Angeles ahead 1-0 at 8:44 of the first period on the power play. Warren Foegele entered the offensive zone with speed and made a centering pass from the left circle to a charging Clarke coming into the crease to score.
“We did good weathering the storm,” said Clarke, who got his first Stanley Cup Playoff goal. “They came out really hot, they had good possession out the gates. But when we got that power play, our first unit had really good execution. We had some good looks. And then we got out there and knew we only had 30 seconds, so had to get something to the net, and we did and we executed well.”
Quinton Byfield made it 2-0 at 4:14 of the second period, taking the puck off the side boards and cutting through the right circle before lifting a quick wrist shot over Skinner’s glove.
EDM@LAK, Gm2: Byfield wires a wrist shot off the post and in to double the lead
The Kings went up 3-0 at 10:37 on Kuzmenko’s second power-play goal of the series. Kempe’s slap shot from the blue line went wide and caromed back off the end boards to Kuzmenko just outside the crease to shoot into an open net.
Draisaitl cut it to 3-1 at 13:54 by chipping in John Klingberg’s pass from just below the right circle.
Arvidsson got the Oilers within 3-2 at 4:05 of the third period when he redirected Brett Kulak’s slap shot.
Kempe responded to make it 4-2 at 6:46. Arvidsson whiffed while playing the puck in his own zone, allowing Kopitar to find Kempe alone in the right circle for a wrist shot.
“He gets on the scoresheet, makes the big plays, but he also just does every little detail properly,” Clarke said of Kempe, who has seven points (three goals, four assists) through two games. “He’s getting back, he’s the first guy back all the time. Everything he does is so crisp, so we’re really lucky to have him.”
Kopitar pushed it to 5-2 at 9:07 on a one-timer from the left circle set up by Kevin Fiala on the power play. Skinner was pulled at the ensuing media timeout.
“We’ve been hanging our goalie out to dry on quite a few occasions,” Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said. “I think he’s actually made some huge stops for us in a timely manner, too, so we got to be better.”
EDM@LAK, Gm2: Kopitar finishes a feed with a quick shot behind Skinner on the power play
Kempe beat Pickard short side with a wrist shot from the left circle for the 6-2 final at 11:09.
“We got a hunger to win as well, but we got to ramp it up,” Draisaitl said. “We got to dig in. We got to start playing here. Obviously, it hasn’t been good enough. And there is hunger on their side. Of course, you can sense that, but it’s not anything that we’re not able to match. We just have to find it, and we got to find it quick of course.”
NOTES: The Kings’ last 2-0 lead in a playoff series came in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final against the New York Rangers. They won the first three games en route to a five-game series victory to claim their second Cup in three years. … Kempe and Kopitar are the first pair of Kings skaters to each have four points in a playoff game since Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey in Game 2 of the 1992 Division Semifinals. … Oilers forward Evander Kane had one shot in 14:46 of ice time in his season debut; he had surgery Sept. 20 to repair two torn hip adductor muscles, two hernias and two torn lower abdominal muscles, then had arthroscopic knee surgery Jan. 9.
🔹Ottawa Senators vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
🔹Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
🔹Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals
🔹New Jersey Devils vs. Carolina Hurricanes
🔹St. Louis Blues vs. Winnipeg Jets
🔹Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars
🔹Minnesota Wild vs. Vegas Golden Knights
🔹Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings
