With five saves in overtime and a perfect 3-for-3 effort in the shootout, goaltender Anton Forsberg helped lead the LA Kings (19-15-10) to a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers (22-16-7) on Saturday night at Rogers Place in the first meeting of the two Pacific Division foes this season.
Kings goals came from Corey Perry, Andre Lee and Alex Laferriere, while Brandt Clarke posted two assists and Adrian Kempe was the lone skater to find the back of the net in the shootout to clinch the victory.
Leon Draisaitl got the home team on the board first, scoring his 22nd goal of the season at 9:12 of the opening period off a turnover that the Oilers caused with a heavy forecheck in the Kings zone.
With just over two minutes left in the first period, the Kings evened up the score with a power play strike by Perry. Moments after Kempe was caught in the face by a high stick from Darnell Nurse, he won the ensuing faceoff and set up a shot by Clarke. Perry jammed in the rebound past Edmonton netminder Connor Ingram for his 10th goal of the year to tie the game at 1-1.
Draisaitl put Edmonton back in front by a 2-1 score when he found the back of the net for a second time just 1:07 into the middle period off a faceoff that he won in the Kings zone. He then raced over to the slot and one-timed a pass by Evan Bouchard past Forsberg for his 23rd tally of the year.
Less than three minutes later, however, Lee netted his first of the year in his third NHL game of the season by redirecting a rebound off a shot by Quinton Byfield into the goal to make it a 2-2 game. Taylor Ward was credited with a second assist on the play, his second helper in as many nights.
LA took the lead for the first time at 6:21 of the third when Kempe won another faceoff to Brandt Clake, who played the puck toward the net. On its way, it took a deflection off the stick of Laferriere and made it into the goal. Laferriere’s 12th strike of the year put the Kings on top, 3-2.
But the Oilers wouldn’t go quietly, and evened the game once again on a power play goal by Connor McDavid which came during a 5-on-3 man-advantage at 9:20 of the final frame.
The game remained tied for the rest of regulation and a back-and-forth overtime, which included a chance for McDavid that saw the puck go into the net, but was called off for goaltender interference on the play. That set the stage for Kempe in the shootout, while Forsberg stopped McDavid, Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in the extra session.
Forsberg ended the game with 21 saves to earn the win, while Ingram stopped 28 shots in a losing effort for Edmonton. Both teams converted once on the power play, with LA going 1-for-2 and the Oilers ending at 1-for-4.
Hear from Lee, Laferriere and Head Coach Jim Hiller following tonight’s game.
