After a tight 1-0 win in Game 4 that brought their series lead up to 3-1, the Edmonton Oilers finished off the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 in Game 5 to advance to the second round for the third straight year. With Evan Bouchard providing the only offence in Game 4, the big boys returned in Game 5 with the usual suspects in Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman all dotting the scoresheet.
Evander Kane opened the scoring in the first period with his second of the playoffs while Alex Laferriere answered back with his first-career postseason goal off a crazy bounce that had Stuart Skinner caught out of his net. The second period saw Blake Lizotte give the Kings their first lead, only to see the Oilers respond with three unanswered goals – two by Draisaitl and one by Hyman, which was his league-leading seventh of the postseason. McDavid assisted on both of Draisaitl’s goals bringing his assist total up to 11, which also leads all players in the playoffs.
Hyman has become quite the playoff performer during his time with the Oilers. Since he signed in Edmonton before the 2021-22 season, he has 21 goals, including 11 during the Oilers’ run to the Western Conference Final in 2022.
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The Kings got a late one by Adrian Kempe, but that’s as close as they would get, and the Rogers Place faithful went home happy knowing that they would see their Oilers in the second round for the third straight year.
Oilers Move On to Face the Canucks or Predators
With the 4-3 win, the Oilers will face the Vancouver Canucks or Nashville Predators in the second round. If the Canucks finish off their series against the Predators, it will be the first all-Canadian matchup since the Battle of Alberta back in 2022.