Leon Draisaitl scored at 18:18 of overtime on the power play and added three assists, as the Edmonton Oilers battled back to even their first-round playoff series with Los Angeles, coming away with a miraculous 4-3 Game 4 victory over the Kings on Sunday.
“We’ve got to find a way to play with a lead, and play that type of game as well,” Draisaitl said after the win.
“The two nights, obviously, we beared down and we’re looking to continue that.”
After Evan Bouchard scored his second goal of the game with 29 seconds remaining in the third to send it to overtime, Edmonton was given a late power play in OT when Vladislav Gavrikov tripped Connor McDavid. Draisaitl made the most of it, pouncing on a rebound to record his third goal of the playoffs.
Corey Perry also scored and had an assist and McDavid had two assists for the Oilers who have bounced back with two straight wins at home after losing a pair of contests in Los Angeles to start the best-of-seven series.
“We’ve got a strong belief in here — we’ve got a strong belief that we’re never out,” McDavid said.
“People doubting us, putting ourselves in bad spots, but we’re working. We’re digging our way out, trying to find ways to win games and obviously we found a way tonight. Not the recipe to success, but proud of everyone how we found a way tonight.”
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Trevor Moore, Warren Foegele and Kevin Fiala replied for the Kings, who haven’t won a playoff series since 2014, when they defeated the New York Rangers to win the Stanley Cup.
Calvin Pickard made 38 saves in the Edmonton net to record the win, while Darcy Kuemper stopped 43 shots in the loss for the Kings.
The Kings started the scoring midway through the first period as the Oilers got careless in their zone and allowed Phillip Danault to dig it out of the corner and pass it to Moore, who sent his second goal of the series through Pickard’s legs.
They made it 2-0 just 1:31 into the second on another turnover as Pickard was able to make the initial save on Foegele, but he was able to deposit the rebound into the net for his first of the post-season against his former team.
Edmonton got one back on the power play four minutes into the middle frame as Perry displayed deft hands, batting his own rebound out of mid-air into the crease and then scoring his second of the playoffs.
The Kings took advantage of yet another turnover to regain the two-goal edge as Fiala fought through for a breakaway and fluttered a shot past Pickard for his third.
The shots through 40 minutes favoured the Kings 28-15.
Edmonton pulled back within one with a fluke goal coming 7:51 into the third period as a Bouchard shot that was going wide instead deflected off of defender Drew Doughty’s skate and past Kuemper. It was credited as Bouchard’s third of the series.
The Oilers pulled off a near miracle and tied it up with just 29 seconds left and Pickard pulled for an extra attacker as Draisaitl picked up his third assist, sending it back to Bouchard who blasted the puck blocker-side for his second of the game, not long after a huge play to keep it in at the blue line.
Bouchard became the fourth player in NHL history to record multiple goals in back-to-back playoff games.
Kuemper stood on his head in overtime, making 17 saves in extra time before Edmonton’s power-play winner.
NOTES
It is the fourth straight year that the two teams have met in the first round of the playoffs, with Edmonton winning in seven games in 2022, six games in 2023 and five games in 2024. … It’s only the fifth time in NHL history that two teams have played each other four years in a row in the first round, and the first since the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins did it from 1984 to 1987. … In the 10 seasons since the Kings last won a series in 2014, they’ve missed the playoffs five times and made it five times, losing in the first round on each occasion. … Edmonton has only come back from a 2-0 series deficit once in team history, coming back to beat the San Jose Sharks in six games in the second round in 2006.
UP NEXT
Game 5 takes place Tuesday in Los Angeles.
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