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Oilers advance to second round with Game 5 win over Kings

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
|
May 2 2024, 4:52 am
Oilers advance to second round with Game 5 win over Kings
Perry Nelson/USA TODAY Sports

For the third straight season, the Edmonton Oilers have advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Kings fought back several times in this one. Down two late in the third, Adrian Kempe beat Stuart Skinner with his fourth of the series to make it a 4-3 game.

Following Kempe’s goal, the Kings had several chances to even things up but were unable to find the back of the Oilers net. That proved costly, as Leon Draisaitl was able to break the puck out and drew a penalty with just 19 seconds remaining.

Though Evander Kane opened the scoring, it was Draisaitl who played hero in this one with two big goals. His first one was particularly interesting, as it appeared he was robbed by David Rittich. After a review, however, it was determined that the glove of the Kings goaltender was behind the goal line.

Less than five minutes later, it was Draisaitl again to regain the lead for the Oilers.

Draisaitl’s second wasn’t the last of the Oilers’ offence in the second period, as Zach Hyman was able to get a piece of a point shot from Evan Bouchard.

A quick glance at the stat sheet would suggest the Oilers’ power play was off tonight, as they finished just 1-4. However, two of their goals in the victory came just seconds after Kings penalties were expiring.

“I think [special teams] was the overall difference in this series,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch. “I think it would be pretty naive not to say that special teams [had] a huge impact on the series.”

While their power play was outstanding throughout, the Oilers penalty kill was arguably even better, killing off all 12 penalties they had called against them in the series.

On top of this being the third straight year the Oilers will advance to the second round, it also marks the third straight year in which they beat the Kings in the first round. While each of the past two series could have gone either way, the Oilers’ top-end talent simply overwhelmed the Kings this time around.

“I think we’re probably a better team this year than we were last year or the year before,” Draisaitl said postgame. “We’re more mature, which plays a big part sometimes. But that’s a really good team over there. They make it hard on you. It’s an absolute grind against them every night. Hats off to the way that they compete and play the game.”

With the win, the Oilers will now sit back and wait to see who comes out on top between the Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators to determine who they will play next.

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