Edmonton
Phillip Danault scored his second goal with 42 seconds to play, and the Los Angeles Kings blew a four-goal lead before rallying for a 6-5 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in the opener of the clubs' fourth consecutive first-round playoff series Monday night.
Kings blow a 4-goal lead before Phillip Danault scores the last-minute winner
Greg Beachem · The Associated Press
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Phillip Danault scored his second goal with 42 seconds to play, and the Los Angeles Kings blew a four-goal lead before rallying for a 6-5 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in the opener of the clubs' fourth consecutive first-round playoff series Monday night.
The Kings led 5-3 in the final minutes before Zach Hyman and Connor McDavid tied it with an extra attacker. Los Angeles improbably responded, with Danault skating up the middle and chunking a fluttering shot home while a leaping Warren Foegele screened goalie Stuart Skinner.
Andrei Kuzmenko had a goal and two assists in his Stanley Cup playoff debut, and Adrian Kempe added another goal and two assists for the second-seeded Kings, who lost those last three series against Edmonton. Los Angeles became the fourth team in Stanley Cup playoffs history to win in regulation despite blowing a four-goal lead.
Quinton Byfield, Phillip Danault and Kevin Fiala also scored, and Darcy Kuemper made 20 saves in his first playoff start since raising the Cup with Colorado in 2022.
- PLAYOFF PREVIEWRoad through Western Conference to Stanley Cup final is 'war of attrition'
Los Angeles is facing Edmonton in the playoffs for the fourth time in a row this spring, but it's the first time the Kings will have home-ice advantage for their series against the Oilers. The Kings surged to a 4-0 lead late in the second period in the arena where they had the NHL's best home record.That's when the Oilers woke up and made it a memorable night: Leon Draisaitl, Mattias Janmark and Corey Perry scored before Hyman scored with 2:04 left and McDavid scored an exceptional tying goal with 1:28 remaining.
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McDavid had a goal and three assists for the Oilers, who reached Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last season. Skinner stopped 24 shots.
Game 2 is Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
Until Edmonton's late rally, Kuzmenko was the star. Los Angeles went 0 for 12 on the power play against Edmonton last spring, but the 29-year-old Russian — who has energized the Kings since arriving last month — scored during a man advantage just 2:49 in.
- Injury will keep Oilers defenceman Ekholm out of first-round playoff series against Kings
- Veteran Edmonton Oilers forward Jeff Skinner happy to snap 15-season playoff drought
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Greg Beachem
Greg Beachem is a reporter for the Associated Press.
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