The Oilers could close out the series on Saturday
Nick Bjugstad scored twice as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-3 on Tuesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the first-round playoff series.
The Oilers are a win away from advancing to the second round. Game 6 is Saturday in Los Angeles. Game 7, if necessary, would be Monday in Edmonton.
Leon Draisaitl, Evander Kane, Zach Hyman and Brett Kulak also scored for Edmonton. Connor McDavid and defensemen Mattias Ekholm and Darnell Nurse had two assists apiece.
Hyman’s goal came when he was hit in the face on a shot by Evan Bouchard and the puck deflected past the Kings’ Pheonix Copley for the Oilers’ fifth goal of the game. Hyman stayed in the game.
Stuart Skinner was back in the net for Edmonton’s after he was swapped out for Jack Campbell one period into the Oilers’ Game 4 overtime win Sunday. The 24-year-old Skinner made 25 saves.
“It feels nice being able to go back in, kind of try to redeem myself,” Skinner said. “But I still think I have a lot to give the team here.”
Kings goalie Joonas Korpisalo was pulled for Copley in the second period after Edmonton’s fourth goal. Korpisalo stopped 15 of 19 shots before giving way to Copley, who had six saves.
Quinton Byfield, Adrian Kempe and Alex Iafallo scored for the Kings.
“We have to try and stay out of the box as much as we can,” Kempe said. “It’s a big factor, and they got two tonight on the power play. We’ve got to clean up some stuff. Our play in our own zone was not really good from the start.”
When the clubs clashed in the first round last year, the Kings claimed Game 5 to take the series lead to Los Angeles, where the Oilers won consecutive games. Edmonton now has the chance in this series to close it out on the road.
The Oilers killed off their one penalty and scored on two of three power-play chances Tuesday. Edmonton is 8 for 14 with a man-advantage in the series.
Bjugstad scored his second of the game at 4:26 of the third period. His floating backhand toward the net went off the skate of Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson and across the goal line.
Byfield scored the Kings’ third goal at 6:33, scoring high over Skinner from close range.
Game 4 overtime hero Hyman scored Edmonton’s fifth goal with his face. at 15:47 of the second period, when just 10 seconds remained in Kevin Fiala’s tripping penalty.
Bjugstad tipped in Cody Ceci’s shot from the blue line at 11:49 for a 4-2 lead.
“The fourth one really hurt us,” Los Angeles coach Todd McLellan said. “From there, there was no catching up. That’s not close to good enough. That doesn’t get you a win in game two of the regular season.”
As they did in the first two games of this series at Rogers Place, the Oilers took an early 2-0 lead and were ahead 3-2 after the opening period.
Kempe chipped the puck over Skinner at 17:35 to pull the Kings within a goal.
Ryan McLeod whipped the puck cross-ice in front of Korpisalo as Kulak got by Byfield and beat Korpisalo at 14:12.
A minute earlier, Iafallo scored L.A.‘s second of the game, chopping a rebound off a Kempe spin-around attempt past Skinner.
Draisaitl made it 2-0 for the Oilers at 10:40 on McDavid’s feed from behind the goal line.
Draisaitl was going down as he was shoved by Byfield, but got a shot away to beat Korpisalo for his NHL-leading sixth playoff goal.
With Carl Grundstrom in the box for hooking McDavid, Kane scored off the far post at 8:08, with just four seconds left in the penalty.
The Kings were without forward Blake Lizotte (lower-body) for a third straight game. Edmonton was without forward Mattias Janmark a fourth game after he blocked a shot with his foot in Game 1.
NOTES
The Oilers’ Bouchard extended his point streak to five games (two goals, six assists). It is the longest point streak in the playoffs for an Edmonton blue-liner since Charlie Huddy’s two goals and three assists in four games in 1988. … The Kings’ power play is 5 for 18 in the series.
