LA Kings
Kings Blow a Lead, Lose 5-4 in Overtime
The Kings were given a big boost by the return of Kevin Fiala Sunday and he made an immediate impact.
An old problem returned for the Los Angeles Kings as they blew an early lead to the Edmonton Oilers en route to a 5-4 overtime loss.
The Kings were given a big boost by the return of Kevin Fiala Sunday and he made an immediate impact.
Just under 10 minutes in, Fiala drove the puck wide and put a shot for a rebound. Gabe Vilardi was there to deposit the rebound putting the Kings up 1-0 early.
Not long after the Kings' goal, Drew Doughty turned the puck over right in front of Joonas Korpisalo. Draisaitl then fed Evander Kane backdoor for an open net. But Korpisalo darted across and denied Kane to keep the Kings up 1-0.
The Kings quickly double their lead. Viktor Arvidsson received a pass at the offensive blue line and spun Vincent Desharnais before coming in and beating Stuart Skinner five-hole.
The Kings then got their first power-play opportunity of the game with Fiala drawing a hold.
On the ensuing power play, Fiala won a foot race to a loose puck in front and chipped the puck over to Anze Kopitar. Kopitar retrieved the puck and dangled Skinner to put the Kings up 3-0.
The Kings entered the intermission up 3-0 and chased Skinner out of the net. With Jack Campbell coming in to start the second.
You had to expect a big pushback from the Oilers and they delivered.
They started the period with a little extra jump and found their opening on the power play.
Alex Edler went off for a trip and Edmonton's special teams went to work.
Evan Bouchard was teed up at the point by Draisaitl and Bouchard fired a bomb past Korpisalo and in.
Draisaitl then cut the lead to one, with McDavid forcing a turnover behind the net and feeding Draisaitl in the slot who made no mistake.
The Oilers continued to control play in the second but the Kings were holding strong.
But, with under a minute left, Edmonton got another power play opportunity, this time on a suspect call.
Fiala checked Draisaitl in the defensive zone and went the other way on a two-on-one, but the play was blown dead and Fiala was called for a trip on the hit.
Fiala's stick was around Draisaitl's feet, but on the review, it was clear Draisaitl wasn't tripped.
Regardless, the Kings needed a kill and couldn't get it. After some quick passing, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins fed Draisaitl in the slot who buried low blocker on Korpisalo.
The period ended 3-3 with Edmonton carrying the momentum.
Heading into the third tied at three, the Kings needed a big response.
They got that in the form of Matt Roy.
Arvidsson fed Roy on a net-front drive and Roy showed some nifty hands in front to beat Skinner five-hole.
The Kings were handed a big chance soon after the goal, with Zach Hyman slashing Mikey Anderson after an Anderson hit, sending the Kings on the power play.
The Kings were unable to capitalize though and had to preserve their one-goal lead.
They held on for the majority of the period, but with three minutes left the Oilers tied it.
Evander Kane grabbed his first of the series, firing a puck over Korpisalo's shoulder on the rush.
Kane nearly won it for the Oilers soon after, driving to the net and trying to stuff it far side. Korpisalo slid across and showed good lower-body strength to stuff Kane's attempt.
For the third time in four games, the Kings and Oilers needed extra time to decide this game.
The Kings gave the Oilers a big chance early in overtime with Adrian Kempe cross-checking Bouchard behind the net in the offensive zone.
The Oilers' power play had been perfect on the night and had an opportunity to go to work once again.
The Kings got a big kill though, staying alive early in overtime.
But, just over halfway into overtime, Hyman came down the left wing and fired a shot through Korpisalo to end the game.
It was Hyman's first of the series at a crucial time.
The Kings had a habit of blowing leads in early in the season and that issue came back on Sunday.
It's a bad way to lose a game, but going back to Edmonton tied at two, with Fiala back in the lineup is still a decent spot to be in.
The Kings have to repeat their fast start from Game Four on Tuesday but can't take their foot off the gas again.
There are still plenty of reasons for the Kings to be confident heading into Game Five despite the loss.
But they'll need to figure out the penalty kill, with Edmonton clocking in at over 50% on the power play.