Connor McDavid and the Oilers rally to defeat Kings in a shootout
Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist, Derek Ryan scored in the fourth round of a shootout and the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Kings 3-2 on Saturday night.
Leon Draisaitl also scored, Stuart Skinner made 26 saves, and the Oilers picked up their fourth consecutive win.
“Every time we’re in this building, it feels like the exact same game,” McDavid said. “Rinse and repeat. It’s a grind. They’re a great team, and I felt we did a good job of just hanging in there.”
McDavid fueled the Oilers’ comeback in the second period from two goals down, flicking in his low-angle shot off Cam Talbot’s helmet for a power-play tally 5:35 into the period and feeding Draisaitl in the slot during four-on-four play with 4:31 remaining to tie it.
Kings broadcasters Nick Nickson and Jim Fox along with Times columnist Helene Elliott rank the top 10 players in Los Angeles Kings history.
McDavid played in his 600th career game and has 316 goals and 581 assists, the fifth-most to start a career behind Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Mike Bossy and Peter Stastny.
McDavid broke a tie with Stastny for fourth-most assists through 600 games, behind Gretzky, Lemieux and Bobby Orr.
“Anytime you’re mentioned with those guys, you’re doing something right,” McDavid said. “Those are three of the game’s very, very, very best, you know, so to be with that company obviously means a lot to me what that means. It’s a special, special group.”
Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist, Kevin Fiala scored, and Talbot made 24 saves as the Kings lost their second straight game.
“We did some good things, we did some things that we put ourselves in tough spots, but that’s the type of game we’ve come to expect from these two teams,” coach Todd McLellan said. “For the most part, it was a hard fought game.”
Kempe’s top-end speed factored into both Kings’ goals in the first period. It was his blazing entry into the offensive zone that occupied two defenders and left Fiala alone for a slap shot one-timer to open the scoring with 5:16 left.
Kempe then charged in on a breakaway before putting his wrist shot off the right post and in from the right circle for a 2-0 edge with 1:11 remaining. It was his 10th multipoint game, giving Kempe three goals and three assists during a four-game point streak.
“I still feel confident, like I have the last couple years,” Kempe said. “Obviously, would still like to see myself score more. Got one tonight, so that was nice, and hopefully I can get on a little bit of a roll.”
Up next for the Kings: vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night.
