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Kings comeback win powered by Kempe, Kopitar

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The Los Angeles Kings scored three times in the third period – including goals within the first and last minute of play – to storm back from a 2-0 deficit against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 on Monday night.

The first period was a lackluster one for the Kings, who allowed two on nine shots that reached Joonas Korpisalo, while only taking six shots of their own. The first period also featured heavy special teams work, with the Oilers being penalized twice and the Kings three times. The Oilers second goal came on a 5-on-3 advantage with both Drew Doughty and Mikey Anderson serving penalties.

Activity ratcheted up in the second period, with the Oilers outshooting the Kings 13-11. Both Korpisalo and Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner stood tall against the onslaught, keeping the score unchanged through the second.

In 4-on-4 play early in the second period, a smart defensive play from Vladislav Gavrikov helped break up an Oilers offensive chance. Play went the other way, with Adrian Kempe receiving a pass in the neutral zone. Kempe chipped a backhand shot past Skinner to get the Kings on the board.


While Leon Draisaitl gave the Oilers their two-goal lead back, Kempe wasn’t satisfied with just one goal. Just minutes after Draisaitl’s goal, Kempe collected a loose puck after a faceoff and snapped it home to bring the Kings within one.


Of course, bringing it within one means you still need one more goal to force overtime. That’s where Anze Kopitar comes in. Late in the game, on the power play and with an extra man due to Korpisalo being pulled, Viktor Arvidsson and Phil Danault connected on a play in front of the Oilers net. Skinner made the initial save but didn’t control the puck, which trickled out into the blue paint for Kopitar to poke home with 17 seconds left.


If you, like me, thought you could just ease on into the playoffs, well, we were all sorely mistaken. What better way to start the playoffs than with overtime hockey?

The Oilers dominated most of overtime, putting 11 shots on Korpisalo, including one that was quickly called back. While the Oilers faithful celebrated immediately, Drew Doughty and other Kings began to indicate that the goal shouldn’t count. A review indicated that Derek Ryan’s stick was above the crossbar, and officials called the goal back.


A rare playoffs overtime penalty call went in the Kings favor, as Blake Lizotte drew a tripping penalty. Oilers fans disagreed, believing that Lizotte tripped over a broken stick littered on the ice, rather than the swing of Vincent Desharnais’ stick. Replay showed Lizotte already in the process of falling by the time he made contact with the abandoned stick, however.

On the ensuing power play, it was once again Arvidsson who helped set up the crucial play. Arvidsson, lingering near the goal line, received a pass from Kopitar; he quickly sent it to Alex Iafallo, left alone in front of the Oilers net. Iafallo scored easily to give the Kings the thrilling comeback win.


After the game, Iafallo said his main goal on that play was just to “get lost” on the ice in an attempt to find a good spot for a scoring opportunity. He certainly did just that, managing to get in behind three different Oilers players to face Skinner alone.


Anze Kopitar finished the night with four points, the first time a Kings player has achieved that since Jeff Carter in 2014. Perhaps even more notably is the stat line for Connor McDavid: zero points. The league’s highest-scoring player played 14:58 against Phil Danault at 5-on-5 play (18:40 in all situations) and was held entirely off the score sheet. While it’s too early to draw too many parallels, one can’t help but be reminded of Danault’s masterful play against Mark Stone during the Montreal Canadiens’ Stanley Cup run.

Game 2 of the series takes place on Wednesday, April 19 in Edmonton, with a 7:00 PM Pacific start time.

Talking Points