Edmonton Oilers advance to 2nd round with 6-4 win over Los Angeles Kings

Shane Jones · The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 02, 2025 1:35 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

Connor Brown had a extremity and 2 assists arsenic the Edmonton Oilers punched their summons done to the 2nd circular of the playoffs with a chaotic 6-4 triumph implicit the Los Angeles Kings connected Thursday.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Darnell Nurse, Zach Hyman and Trent Frederic each had a extremity and an assistance and Adam Henrique besides scored for the Oilers.

Edmonton won 4 consecutive to instrumentality the best-of-seven bid successful six games. The Oilers volition instrumentality connected the Vegas Golden Knights successful the 2nd round.

Quinton Byfield, Brandt Clarke, Jordan Spence and Anze Kopitar replied for the Kings, who person present been booted by the Oilers successful the archetypal circular successful 4 consecutive seasons.

Los Angeles hasn't won a playoff bid since 2014, erstwhile it defeated the New York Rangers to triumph the Stanley Cup.

Calvin Pickard made 23 saves successful nett to grounds the win, portion Darcy Kuemper stopped 23 of 28 shots for the Kings.

The goals came accelerated and furious to commencement the contention with 4 goals successful the archetypal six minutes. The Kings scored connected their archetypal changeable conscionable 1:19 into the archetypal play arsenic Kevin Fiala sprung Byfield connected a breakaway and helium sent his 3rd of the post-season past Pickard.

Edmonton tied it up 3:04 into the archetypal framework arsenic Brown took a changeable done postulation that deed Henrique up precocious and caromed into the nett for his archetypal of the playoffs.

However, the Kings responded conscionable 33 seconds aboriginal connected conscionable their 3rd changeable connected Pickard arsenic a debased percent changeable from Clarke appeared to deflect disconnected Nurse's instrumentality and went up precocious and successful for his 2nd of the series.

The Oilers tied it up again astatine the 5:55 people of the opening play connected the powerfulness play arsenic Connor McDavid made a bully cross-ice provender to Nugent-Hopkins and helium rifled successful his 3rd goal. It was the fastest 4 goals of immoderate crippled each play and Edmonton became the archetypal squad successful NHL past to grounds 2 game-tying goals successful the opening six minutes of a playoff game.

Edmonton took its archetypal pb with 7 minutes to play successful the frenetic archetypal arsenic a agelong changeable by Nurse was deflected successful by Hyman for his 2nd to marque it 3-2.

The Oilers grabbed a two-goal pb with 5 minutes near successful the 2nd play arsenic Nurse took his clip earlier beating Kuemper with a wicked wrister from region for his archetypal of the post-season.

Edmonton past padded its pb with 3:25 to play successful the mediate framework arsenic Brown dropped it backmost to commercialized deadline acquisition Frederic and helium recorded his archetypal arsenic an Oiler.

The Kings made it 5-3 with 2 minutes near successful the 2nd arsenic Spence scored his archetypal connected a one-timer from the slot.

Los Angeles pushed hard successful the 3rd and got wrong 1 with their goalie pulled and 55 seconds remaining arsenic a Drew Doughty constituent changeable deed Kopitar's instrumentality connected its mode into the net.

But Brown enactment the bid distant with an empty-netter arsenic 2 seconds remained.

In the past 4 playoffs, the Oilers are present 7-1 successful series-clinching games — the lone nonaccomplishment coming successful Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup last successful Florida. Edmonton has defeated the Kings successful each of the past six imaginable series-clinching games betwixt the 2 teams dating backmost to Game 6 of the 1991 Smythe Division Finals.