Los Angeles Kings hammer Oilers 6-2 to take a 2-0 series lead

Greg Beacham · The Associated Press

· Posted: Apr 24, 2025 1:44 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Adrian Kempe had 2 third-period goals and 2 assists, skipper Anze Kopitar added a extremity and 3 assists, and the Los Angeles Kings routed the Edmonton Oilers 6-2 connected Wednesday nighttime to prehend a 2-0 pb successful the first-round Stanley Cup playoff series.

Quinton Byfield and Andrei Kuzmenko scored for the 2nd consecutive game, and Brandt Clarke scored his archetypal playoff extremity to statesman an overwhelming show by second-seeded Los Angeles.

The Kings blew a four-goal pb earlier winning Game 1, and they fto a three-goal pb gaffe to 3-2 aboriginal successful the 3rd play of Game 2 earlier seizing power with 3 goals successful little than 5 minutes portion chasing goalie Stuart Skinner.

These Pacific Division rivals are gathering successful the archetypal circular for the 4th consecutive year, but the Kings had home-ice vantage for the archetypal time.

They've mostly dominated 2 games successful the gathering wherever they had the NHL's champion location record, scoring 12 goals — including 5 by their revitalized powerfulness play, which was the worst among playoff teams successful the regular season.

Game 3 is Friday nighttime successful Edmonton.

Leon Draisaitl and Viktor Arvidsson scored for the Oilers, but the defending Western Conference champions' endemic antiaircraft struggles couldn't beryllium covered up by the brilliance of Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, who was held scoreless.

Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves for the Kings.

Los Angeles went up 3-0 midway done the 2nd erstwhile Kuzmenko added to his bonzer commencement with the Kings by smacking location a rebound.

Edmonton yet got connected the committee erstwhile Draisaitl redirected a nifty walk from John Klingberg.

Arvidsson scored against his erstwhile team, with conscionable nether 16 minutes near successful the game, to tighten it up, but Kempe answered moments aboriginal connected a walk from Kopitar, who added LA's 3rd power-play extremity soon afterward.

Calvin Pickard replaced Skinner, but Kempe scored his 2nd extremity 90 seconds later.