Oilers can’t close the deal as Kings storm back to win
Play all three periods like they played in the second period and the Edmonton Oilers run away with Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings.
But they didn’t, so they ’re left to dissect a crushing 5-2 defeat.
After another one of their trademark slow starts the Oilers battled back hard to make a game of it, erasing a 2-0 deficit with a ferocious second period, but they couldn’t close the deal.
Paul LaDue’s power play winner with 5:27 left in regulation sealed their fate, if not their season, before the Kings added a pair of empty netters by Alex Iafallo and Anze Kopitar to round out the heartbreak.
The Oilers were unable to gain any ground on a playoff spot that’s growing smaller and smaller on the horizon.
It started off on the wrong foot early when Kyle Clifford scored on L.A.’s first shot of the game, 1:10 after the opening faceoff, on a long wrist shot that Cam Talbot should have been able to pick up.
It’s the ninth time this season the Oilers have given up a goal on the first shot of the game and 32nd time they ’ve given up the first goal of the contest.
The rest of the first frame wasn’t much better as Edmonton struggled badly against L.A.’s defence. They managed just three shots to L.A.’s six, and were forced to block 15.
And when the Kings scored on their first shot of the second period (Adrian Kempe at 58 seconds), it looked like the Oilers were in serious trouble.
But they came to life after that and thoroughly dominated the middle frame.
Leon Draisaitl scored on a power play at 3:28, giving Edmonton three power play goals on their last four chances after a miserable 3-for-50 run.
And then, another Connor McDavid highlight reel goal, The Oilers captain tied the game 2-2 at 10:20.
It was classic McDavid.
He gets crushed to the ice in a neutral zone collision with Jujhar Khaira, stays down for a few seconds, gets up, takes a long pass, looks around to see if there are any other Oilers around (or to see if he was being waved to the quiet room, it’s hard to tell) and then blows past Drew Doughty and scores on a wrister for his seventh goal in three games.
Routine.
But it wasn’t enough.
With 5:27 left in the third and Jesse Puljujarvi in the box, Tanner Pearson provided the screen on LaDue’s shot from the point and L.A. had the 3-2 lead.