EDMONTON, Alberta — When you allow the Edmonton Oilers to nearly set a franchise record with nine power-play goals in a playoff series, your chances of winning are pretty slim, and the Kings found out the hard way.
Leon Draisaitl scored twice, while Evander Kane and Zach Hyman also tallied their second and seventh goals of the series as Edmonton knocked the Kings out of the playoffs for a third straight year with a 4-3 win in Game 5 of their first-round series on Wednesday night at Rogers Place.
Evan Bouchard added three assists, and Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two each. McDavid extended his points total to a playoff-leading 12 (one goal, 11 assists).
Alex Laferriere, Blake Lizotte, and Adrian Kempe scored for the Kings as they held a 2-1 lead in the second period, only to see it evaporate by the end of the second after they couldn’t stay out of the penalty box.
Special teams were the story of the series as Edmonton’s power play was red-hot going 9 for 20 in the series, while the Kings finished 0 for 12 with the man advantage.
In fact, the Kings can look at the Oilers’ power play as a big reason for them being ousted three straight years as the Edmonton power play has gone 25 for 55 (45.5%) in the three series.
David Rittich made 19 saves in the loss for the Kings, while Stuart Skinner made 16 saves as the Oilers advanced to face the winner of the Vancouver-Nashville series in the next round.
With their playoff lives at stake, the Kings came out strong, getting some good pressure on Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner early on. They held the Oilers to just one shot through the opening six minutes, but it was Edmonton who would strike first as Kane’s backhand handcuffed Rittich to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead at the 10:17 mark of the opening frame.
Despite being down, the Kings looked to be the better team in the first period, and their hard work was rewarded with an ugly goal – but after being shutout in Game 4, the Kings needed a lucky…
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