Draisaitl, McDavid lead Oilers over Kings 4-3 in shootout
Mar 30, 2022, 9:51 AM | Updated: 10:55 pm
Edmonton Oilers celebrate a shootout win over the Los Angeles Kings in an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 30, 2022, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)
(Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid both scored in regulation and then again in the shootout, lifting the Edmonton Oilers to a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night.
McDavid added an assist to get to 100 points for the fifth time in his career. Cody Ceci also scored and Mikko Koskinen had 38 saves for the Oilers, who have won eight straight at home.
The victory was Edmonton’s second in a row and moved the Oilers within a point of Los Angeles for second place in the Pacific Division.
“I think both teams knew what was at stake. It was a tight game, back and forth,” Draisaitl said. “That was a playoff-type of game.”
Alexander Edler, Quinton Byfield and Carl Grundstrom scored in regulation for the Kings, who have lost three of their last four games.
“I think every point is important and we definitely wanted two,” Byfield said. “It’s good that we came away with one, but our minds were on two. They’re right behind us in the standings and we want to make the gap bigger.”
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 it less than four minutes later when Ceci skated in and sent a wrist shot glove side past 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 scored 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.
Just 47 seconds later, Byfield created his own space and ripped a shot past Koskinen. And just 14 seconds after that, the Kings tied it at 3 when Grundstrom stole a puck in a battle in front of the net and scored his eighth.
The Oilers had an apparent go-ahead goal called back because of goaltender interference.
“It was good to see that we can stick with it and come out on top at the end,” Draisaitl said. “That is a great sign for us. Who knows, we might see this team sometime down the stretch. It was a big two points for us.”
NOTES: The Kings were 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 in COVID-19 protocols.
UP NEXT
Kings: At Calgary on Thursday night.
Oilers: Host St. Louis on Friday night.
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