In Los Angeles, Kailer Yamamoto with 3:03 left on the regulation clock on Saturday night to give the Edmonton Oilers a 5-4 win over the Kings.
The Game 6 win gave the Oilers a 4-2 series win and eliminated the Kings.
“I think a lot of people look at the Oilers and think it’s a two or three-man team. Couldn’t be further from that at all,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who had a goal and an assist. “Up and down the lineup we got contributions. … That’s what playoff hockey is all about, and it’s a good sign for our group.”
LA’s Phillip Danault had tied the game, 4-4, at 7:46 of the third.
“I was having flashbacks to Game 4 against Calgary last year,” McDavid said. “It’s good that we’ve been in that situation before where a weird one goes in. It kind of feels funny that the game is tied, you didn’t really do anything wrong, but it was a tough break. … Then the little guy (Yamamoto) steps up here, and it’s a credit to those guys.”
Stuart Skinner made 40 saves in the Oilers win.
“I mean, it comes down to a few plays, obviously,” Los Angeles defenseman Sean Durzi said. “They get timely goals. I mean, we got a few timely goals. They just got the last one.”
McDavid opened the scoring in the first period to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead.
Durzi tied it, 1-1, at 8:13 of the first.
Edmonton’s Klim Kostin scored the first of his pair on the night for a 2-1 lead headed to the middle frame .
“We are sure of ourselves and sure of what our opportunity is here, and we have an understanding that it’s not always going to be smooth sailing,” Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said. “It’s OK that there is some drama in the story.”
Leon Draisaitl scored off the power play at 4:06 of the second period for a 3-1 advantage to the Oilers.
In a span of 1:24, the Kings rallied to tie the game, 3-3, on goals from Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala in the middle frame frame.
“Obviously, a healthy Kevin is different than somebody hurt,” Danault said. “But, yeah, we were missing him at the beginning of the series for sure. But he came out pretty strong for us and he played well.”
Kostin hit for his second of the game midway through the second for a 4-3 lead headed to the third.
“They find a way to score some big goals, and their bottom six guys were huge for them. I think that was the turning point there,” Danault said. “We played a solid game, but they played the whole game and got rewarded.”
Joonas Korpisalo made 21 saves in the loss.
You must be logged in to post a comment.