Connor Brown scored once in a three-point game and the Edmonton Oilers advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, again at the expense of the Los Angeles Kings, thanks to a 6-4 home-ice victory in Game 6 on Thursday.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, Darnell Nurse and Trent Frederic all collected one goal and one assist for the Oilers, who closed out the Kings in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series.
Adam Henrique also scored and goaltender Calvin Pickard made 23 saves for the Oilers, who will face the Pacific Division-champion Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference semifinals.
“Gotta have a better start, obviously, next series,” Oilers center Connor McDavid said to Sportsnet. “Wasn’t our best tonight but we just found a way.”
Edmonton, which won four straight games to claim the series, eliminated Los Angeles in the opening round of the postseason for the fourth consecutive year.
“We were kinda dead in the water for a bit, down 2-0 and trailing Game 3, but the resolve of this group is crazy,” said Pickard to Sportsnet. “… We always face adversity and come back stronger. Today wasn’t our best by any stretch, but we found a way.”
Quinton Byfield, Brandt Clarke, Jordan Spence and Anze Kopitar tallied for the Kings, who opened the series with a pair of home-ice victories but could not maintain the momentum.
“It’s a missed opportunity for us,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “We believe we could have won the series. We believe we should have won the series.”
Los Angeles goalie Darcy Kuemper stopped 23 shots and Kevin Fiala and Alex Laferriere each posted two assists.
With the score tied 2-2, Hyman gave the Oilers their first lead at 12:49 of the wild first period with a nifty deflection of Nurse’s point shot off a faceoff win.
Nurse made it a two-goal edge at 14:59 of the second period by burying a wide-open chance from the slot for his first goal of the playoffs.
Frederic made it a 5-2 game at 16:35 of the second with a redirect during an odd-man rush for his first tally of the series.
Spence gave the Kings a shot of hope less than two minutes later with a one-timer from the slot during a four-on-two rush up ice. Kopitar made it a one-goal game by blasting home a point shot with 55 seconds remaining in regulation but it was too little, too late.
Brown iced the game with an empty-net goal two seconds from the final buzzer.
Keeping with a theme of the series, the Oilers cued up a comeback for the fourth consecutive game.
Twice the Kings staked a lead and twice the Oilers drew even in a wild opening stretch. Byfield opened the scoring 79 seconds into the clash with a breakaway tally, only to see Henrique respond at the 3:04 mark by deflecting Brown’s shot.
Clarke again put the Kings ahead 33 seconds later with a shot off the rush, but Nugent-Hopkins lifted a shot from the left circle at 5:55 for a power-play goal.
–Field Level Media
