In Los Angeles, Trevor Moore scored near the mid point of the fist period on Sunday, and that was all the offense the Kings would need,as Jonathan Quick made 31 saves in a 4-0 shutout of the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4.
The win ties the series 2-2.
“I mean, we played the game that got us to the playoffs,” Quick said. “We got pucks deep, we forechecked, blocked shots, (got) pucks to the net and rebounds. We play that way, we can be successful.”
Game 5 is Tuesday in Edmonton.
“Obviously, I think everyone in our room was tired of giving up that many goals so, as a whole, I think we tried to lock it down more,” LA’s Mikey Anderson said. “Get back to our identity, being harder to play against, and trying to give up less than we’ve given up the last couple games.”
The Kings’ Troy Stecher scored in the 15th minute of the first period to push the advantage to 2-0.
“We didn’t play very well for two games, and then I can tell you that we played better tonight to a man,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “It wasn’t 100 percent better. It was only like five percent better per player, but we did some of the things we needed to do to win the game, and we hadn’t been doing that since Game 1.”
Both teams were scoreless in three power play chances.
“I think it’s the same thing across the board, probably,” Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. “Penalty kill, five-on-five, power play, it’s just working. We got to outwork those guys.”
Grundstrom extended the lead to 3-0 in the third period off a breakaway goal.
“Well, I didn’t think we started anywhere near where we needed to start,” Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. “We knew they were going to come with a push, and we didn’t weather it very well, or certainly the way we wanted to. It’s a missed opportunity for us.”
Grundstrom added an empty-net goal for the 4-0 final.
“Pretty darn good night for him,” McLellan said. “He’s been a really good player for us down the stretch. Trusting player, reliable. … He’s got a pretty unique smile, so it’s good to see it.”
Mike Smith made 42 saves in the Oilers loss.
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