In Edmonton, the Oilers took a 4-0 lead on the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night in Game 1 of their Stanley Cup Playoffs opening round series, then just cruised to a 7-4 win.
Zach Hyman had a hat trick and four points in the win.
Connor McDavid picked up five assists for the Oilers.
“I thought we played a really connected game,” McDavid said. “I thought all five guys were working together even if we had to dump it in, I thought we had good numbers on the forecheck, but ultimately we didn’t have to dump it in all that much because we were connected coming through there, and that’s what it requires.”
Stuart Skinner made 33 saves in the win.
“At this time of year, everybody is so focused on winning that it doesn’t matter who scores,” Hyman said “Obviously, that has been a big part of my game this year, so it is important that I am able to produce. But regardless of who scores, we are all pulling on the same rope. It was just a huge effort from the entire group tonight. It was a good win.”
Hyman potted his first at at 6:52 of the opening stanza, scoring off a pass from McDavid.
“Starts are really important, especially against a team as well structured defensively as the Kings are,” McDavid said. “You have to get out to a good start. It helps if you can score the first one, and it kind of forces them to open up a little bit.”
Adam Henrique pushed the lead to 2-0 with a marker at 9:36, scoring off a wrister.
“It’s been a while, but it’s nice to be back in the playoffs,” Henrique said. “Since coming here (from Anaheim at the Trade Deadline), a lot of people have talked about the atmosphere, but until you’ve experienced the playoff atmosphere here it’s hard to explain it and understand what it’s really like. It was exciting to be part of it.”
Hyman picked up his double at 4:50 of the middle frame.
The Oilers took their 4-0 lead when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins hit off the power play at 8:24.
Game 2 is set for Wednesday in Edmonton.
“It’s a seven-game series, and you have to win the first to four. We’re down 1-0, but we can easily win and make it 1-1 next game,” Los Angeles defenseman Drew Doughty said. “We have to put it behind us and learn from what we did wrong and fix what we did wrong and bring it into the next game.
“That’s not our model. That’s not the way we play. It’s frustrating. We just have to put that game in the past and get back to doing what we do best, and that’s playing good two-way hockey.”
LA finally got on the board when Mikey Anderson made it 4-1 at 10:56, he scored off a slap shot from the high out above the left circle.
Adrian Kempe closed the gap to 4-2 at 17:56, he was credited with a goal after his attempted pass deflected off an Oilers defenseman for the goal.
The Oilers replied to that outburst with a power play goal from Leon Draisaitl at 1:08 of the third period, he scored off a shot from the below the right circle. His goal make it 5-2.
Hyman collected his hats on a power play strike at 6:17 to stretch lead back to four, at 6-2.
There was a Pierre-Luc Dubois sighting his goal at 16:56 made it 6-3.
Trevor Moore made it a little more palpable with a goal at 18:49 to make it, 6-4.
“There were dirty goals. That’s how we’re going to score,” Kempe said. “We had some looks early in the game, and in the second and third period we had some high-danger chances that didn’t go in, but those ugly goals went in, and that’s something we have to keep doing. Keep throwing pucks on net and have bodies around there.”
Warren Foegele hit an empty net with 26 seconds left on the game clock for the 7-4 final count on the scoreboard.
Cam Talbot made 38 saves in the loss.
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