LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Kings jumped out to a three-goal lead for the second straight game against the Edmonton Oilers and fended off another comeback Wednesday night for a convincing 6-2 Game 2 win at Crypto.com Arena.
It is the first 2-0 lead for the Kings in any series since holding that advantage over the New York Rangers in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, which they went on to win in five games for their second title in a three-year span.
This is the sixth playoff series for the Kings since then and they are still trying to break through and advance to the second round. The last four battles have been against the Oilers, and this is their best chance since having a 2-1 advantage in 2023 and a 3-0 lead in a pivotal Game 4 that they went on to lose.
Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves and the Kings supported him with more offense. Adrian Kempe scored twice, while Brandt Clarke, Quinton Byfield, Andrei Kuzmenko and Anže Kopitar also had goals. Byfield, Kuzmenko and Kempe also scored in their 6-5 Game 1 triumph Monday, a game where Edmonton came back from 4-0 and 5-2 deficits.
Leon Draisaitl, who had a Game 1 goal, pulled Edmonton to within 3-1 in the second on a neat redirection goal off a pass from John Klingberg. Klingberg made his first appearance in the series after being scratched in Game 1.
The Oilers pulled closer early in the third as Viktor Arvidsson, who played the previous three seasons with Los Angeles, won a battle for position in front of Kuemper and tipped in a Brett Kulak point shot. Kempe would answer with a wrist shot that cleanly beat Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner.
A key to the first two games was the Kings jumping out early. They had the Oilers playing from behind again thanks to a power play that continues to cook, with Clarke scoring in the first period and Kuzmenko banging in a hard carom off the end boards that resulted from Kempe’s point shot. The Kings went 2-for-5 with the advantage in Game 1.
Oilers special teams anything but
What a difference a year makes. The Oilers won last year’s series on the back of their special teams as they dominated on the power play and shut the Kings down with their penalty kill. That hasn’t been the case so far in this series. Far from it.
Clarke’s first playoff goal in the first period represented the third time the Oilers have allowed a goal while short-handed in two games. Kuzmenko then netted his second power-play goal of the series in the second before Kopitar added another one in the third. That’s on 10 opportunities. Edmonton’s power play, meanwhile, went 0-for-3 on Wednesday after failing to score on two tries in Game 1.
It’s like there’s been a “Trading Places” scenario. The Oilers scored on nine of their 20 power plays in the five games a year ago. They kept the Kings off the scoreboard on 12 chances. The Oilers allowed just four goals while down at least one skater last spring. They’ve already allowed one more goal than that.
Skinner pulled, leaves Game 3 starter in question
Stuart Skinner’s Game 2 performance was almost identical to his work from the previous contest. You can argue he didn’t let in a single bad goal, yet the red light behind him went off with so much frequency to give his neck a sunburn.
Skinner was left defenseless too often Wednesday, no goal more obvious than the Kings’ fourth by Kempe when he had all day to pick a corner on the goalie. He was mercifully pulled in favor of Calvin Pickard during a media timeout with 9:30 left in the third period after allowing five goals on 28 shots.
Skinner has now surrendered 11 goals on 58 shots in the series. Given how short his leash appeared to be, there’s a good chance he won’t get a chance to improve his stats in Game 3.
McDavid and Draisaitl together a wash
With Evander Kane back in the lineup, the Oilers loaded up their top line with their two superstars, Connor McDavid and Draisaitl, and veteran Corey Perry on right wing. Though they controlled play at five-on-five, the tangible results didn’t show that.
Each member of that trio was on the ice for 1:16 when Byfield gobbled up a loose puck along the boards, walked in and beat Skinner. McDavid was on when Kuzmenko scored on the power play. (He’s been getting some PK duty this series as the sixth forward with Kasperi Kapanen scratched.)
Draisaitl got the Oilers on the board and within two goals by chipping in a pass from Klingberg, who was making his playoff debut with the team and playing his first game since March 27. That extended Draisaitl’s playoff point streak against the Kings to 16 games.
The McDavid-and-Draisaitl combination probably deserved more luck Wednesday. That they didn’t get it led to the Oilers’ demise.
Kuemper shows his regular-season form
There isn’t any doubt that Winnipeg’s star goalie Connor Hellebuyck will take home his second consecutive Vezina Trophy and third of his career. But it’s possible Kuemper winds up as a finalist for the first time after a return to Los Angeles that’s been exceptional. He went 31-11-7 with a 2.02 goals-against average and .921 save percentage.
In Game 1, Kuemper was closer to ordinary as the Oilers put five pucks behind him on 25 shots. He’d come out victorious on Phillip Danault’s game-winning goal with 41.1 seconds left, but that was only after McDavid fueled an Oilers rally and beat him for a 5-5 tie with 1:28 remaining. Interestingly, Kuemper said he felt good about his Game 1.
“They obviously have some great players that made some great plays,” Kuemper said. “We know that they’re going to be a challenge to contain. Obviously don’t like giving up the lead like that, but I felt good about my game. Just keep doing what I’ve been doing.”
In Game 2, Kuemper showed he was dialed in early when he stoned Zach Hyman with a doorstep stop on Edmonton’s power play. If there was a decisive advantage the Kings might have over the Oilers, it would be in goal. Kuemper showed why with a steady performance.
Clarke’s offensive ability comes to forefront
The second season for the Kings’ 22-year-old defenseman saw him go through the full 82-game schedule for the first time and produce points with a lot of ice time from the back end. It came while Drew Doughty was hurt, and with the shrinkage of playing time when Doughty returned to action at the end of January. This occurred even though Clarke led their defensemen with 33 points.
Clarke’s improved defense regained the trust of Kings coach Jim Hiller down the stretch as he secured a spot in his first NHL postseason. He played just 11:29 in Game 1 as Hiller leaned on his four veterans on defense. But in Game 2, Clarke’s natural offensive instincts resulted in another successful power play as he jumped to the net and popped in a centering pass from Warren Foegele to put the Kings up first for the second straight game.
With the Kings moving to deploy five forwards on their first unit after acquiring Kuzmenko, Clarke’s power-play usage continued to diminish. But he was back on the second unit for Game 1, and the payoff came Wednesday. It was perhaps fitting that he scored as his spin move near the boards drew a cross-checking penalty on Kane that he’d convert 1:49 later.
(Photo: Harry How / Getty Images)
