Phillip Danault scored his second goal of the game with 41.1 seconds remaining in regulation to give the host Los Angeles Kings a wild 6-5 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in their Stanley Cup playoff opener Monday night.
Andrei Kuzmenko and Adrian Kempe both collected one goal and two assists while Quinton Byfield and Kevin Fiala both registered one goal and one assist for the Kings in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series.
“That was tough,” Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said to Sportsnet. “I’m so happy we won that game, because that would have been a (terrible) game to lose.”
Goaltender Darcy Kuemper made 20 saves for the Kings, who held a 4-0 lead late in the second period and 5-2 edge in the third before the Oilers charged back, necessitating Danault’s heroics.
“I liked that we stayed with it even though there were opportunities to quit,” Oilers forward Zach Hyman said. “… To tie the game there, we still lost, but you can take some positives from it.
“We have a history of bouncing back.”
Moments after the Oilers tied the clash, Danault joined a rush up ice and slightly fanned on a shot from the slot. However, the puck went up and over Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner for the winner.
Connor McDavid scored once in a four-point game for Edmonton, while Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl each notched one goal and one assist. Mattias Janmark and Zach Hyman added a goal apiece, Evan Bouchard collected three assists, and Skinner stopped 24 shots.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series will be Wednesday in Los Angeles. It is the fourth consecutive year the clubs have met in the first round of the playoffs.
The Kings staked a four-goal edge thanks to first-period goals by Kuzmenko (on a power play) and Byfield, then late-second-period tallies by Kempe and Danault.
However, the Oilers refused to go away quietly. Draisaitl put the visitors on the board with six seconds remaining in the second period, his 18th goal in 19 playoff games against the Kings, and then Janmark tallied 2:19 into the third period.
Fiala’s five-on-three power-play goal at 4:59 of the final frame restored Los Angeles’ three-goal edge and appeared to seal the game. However, Perry chipped a shot home from in tight at 7:43, Hyman made it a one-goal game at 17:56, and McDavid tied the clash with 88 seconds remaining in regulation.
“They never give up,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said of his players. “They’re resilient. They stay composed and focused on what needs to be done. We’ve seen a lot of adversity the last few years in the playoffs.”
–Field Level Media
