Officiating and the Power Play the Story as Oilers Slay Kings

Draisaitl’s two goals brought his total to 17 goals in 18 playoff games against the Kings. Evan Bouchard contributed three assists, totaling 24 points in the same number of playoff games against LA. Connor McDavid registered two assists in Game 6, reaching a total of 12 points in this series and 36 points in 18 playoff games against the Kings. Notably, the Edmonton team scored nine power-play goals throughout the series.

Penalties Were a Series-Changer for the Oilers Potent Power Play

Reactions to the officiating were interesting, depending on which team you were cheering for. Los Angeles fans were first livid when Warren Foegele was called for a trip, but Kevin Fiala – who had a history of diving in previous series’ between these two teams — was called for embellishment. Not long after, both Pierre-Luc Dubois and Drew Doughty took minors. Edmonton scored just seconds after both of those penalties expired.

Adrian Kempe made it a one-goal game with David Rittich pulled to get it close with 2:18 remaining. Phillip Danault took a penalty with 19.7 seconds left as Leon Draisaitl was going to put the puck in the empty net. An offensive zone faceoff made it hard for the Kings to pull Rittich.

Oilers Withstood the Kings’ Physical Attack, Will Move On

The Kings had a game plan, coming out strong in the first periods of Games 4 and 5. Edmonton bent but never broke. The Oilers evened up the shots as the second and third rolled along, then took over.

The Oilers move onto the second round, defeating the Kings in three consecutive years. The first year it took seven games, last season it was six games and this season they got it done in five. The extra rest will be huge for the Oilers as the Kings series took a toll physically. Now, the Oilers wait for the series between the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks to finish.