Los Angeles 3, Edmonton 2
When: 9:30 PM ET, Sunday, October 25, 2015
Where: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta
Referees:
Rob Martell, Dan O'Rourke
Linesmen:
Mike Cvik, Ryan Galloway
Attendance:
16839
By The Sports Xchange
EDMONTON, Alberta -- Just when it looked as if the game might be slipping away, the Los Angeles Kings found an impressive finishing kick.
Left winger Tanner Pearson scored the go-ahead goal with 3:24 to play, and the Kings extended their winning streak to five games with a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday night.
Defenseman Drew Doughty led the way with two assists for the Kings (5-3-0). Centers Jeff Carter and Anze Kopitar added goals.
The deciding goal came with Los Angeles on a power play. The puck struck Oilers defender Andrej Sekera in front, and Pearson was there to pounce on it.
"It felt pretty good to get one in the back of the net," Pearson said of his goal, which came shortly after the Oilers tied the score with 6:04 to play. "It's kind of building blocks, and hopefully it's the start of a few more. I think (Doughty) shot it and it was kind of loose. I just wanted to put it on net, and it just slid five hole."
The goal was Pearson's first of the season.
"We switched things up and it was a big goal," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "It was a power-play goal, and he's in the slot. It's a dirty goal, that's what that was."
Left wingers Taylor Hall and Benoit Pouliot got the goals for the Oilers (3-6-0), who lost their second game in a row.
"We didn't ultimately get an A-plus and the score that we needed to put points in the bank, but we improved immensely in our play from our last game," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. "It was a competitive night by our club against a team that has pushed it before against Edmonton. Even at the end, we were using every second that we had.
"There were a lot of positives in the game."
Edmonton tied the game 2-2 on a third-period power play as Hall tipped in a pass by center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
After Pearson put Los Angeles in front, the Oilers believed they tied it with 5.2 seconds remaining. A backhand from rookie center Connor McDavid appeared to cross the goal line while in goalie Jonathan Quick's glove, but a video review concluded that it was not a goal.
"It's not the best feeling (waiting for call), but it's a good one when they say no goal," Kopitar said. "It's a desperation, world-class save by a world-class goaltender."
Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot said, "That was a tough call. It is a fine line when it comes to seeing if it crosses the line or not when it is in his glove. It is what it is. We didn't get it done tonight."
The Oilers opened the scoring at 4:42 of the first period. Pouliot corralled a big rebound from a McDavid attempt and sent a shot past Quick. Right winger Nail Yakupov picked up the other assist to extend his point streak to five games.
The Kings didn't take long to knot the game again, however, getting a goal just over a minute later. Carter was able to bank a shot from behind the goal line and past Talbot for his third goal of the season at 6:04.
Los Angeles went up by a goal with 6:24 remaining in the second period as Kopitar beat Talbot up high for his third goal of the season.
Edmonton played the remainder of the game without defenseman Justin Schultz after he left the game with an unknown injury and did not return to the lineup.
The Oilers came close early in the third, but Quick came across to make the stop in tight on Nugent-Hopkins.
Quick finished with 26 saves, while Talbot stopped 31 shots.
NOTES: The meeting was the first of five games between the Pacific Division rivals this season. The Kings won three of five against the Oilers last season but lost both games played in Edmonton. ... C Tyler Toffoli came into the game with six of the 13 goals the Kings scored in their first seven games this season, but he was held without a point Sunday. ... The Kings were without LW Dwight King (foot) and D Matt Greene (upper body). ... Absent from the Oilers' lineup were RW Jordan Eberle (shoulder), C Matt Hendricks (foot) and D Griffin Reinhart (undisclosed). ... RW Iiro Pakarinen made his season debut for the Oilers after being called up from AHL Bakersfield on Thursday. He took the place of LW Anton Slepyshev. ... The Kings are in Winnipeg to face the Jets on Tuesday. ... The Oilers also return to action that night, traveling to Minnesota to play the Wild.
Top Game Performances
Los Angeles |
|
Edmonton |
Drew Doughty 2 |
Points |
Taylor Hall 1 |
Jeff Carter 1 |
Goals |
Taylor Hall 1 |
Drew Doughty 2 |
Assists |
Oscar Klefbom 1 |
Tanner Pearson 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Taylor Hall 1 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Jonathan Quick .929 |
Save Percentage |
Cameron Talbot .912 |
Jonathan Quick 26 |
Saves |
Cameron Talbot 31 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Los Angeles
|
34 |
3 |
1-2 |
1-2 |
9 |
24 |
Edmonton
|
28 |
2 |
1-2 |
1-2 |
9 |
29 |
Upcoming Games
-
Edmonton will play their next game on the road against Minnesota. The Oilers have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .167 after a loss.
-
Los Angeles will play their next game on the road against Winnipeg. The Kings have a W/L % of .800 after a win and .333 after a loss.