LOS ANGELES — No Connor McDavid. No Leon Draisaitl. No Mattias Ekholm. No Stuart Skinner.
Those are just a portion of the injured scratches that sat out for the Edmonton Oilers in a critical bout with the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. With that in mind, LA played its brand of hockey and won 3-0 on home ice.
In a game that could’ve been telling of what a potential playoff matchup would look like in a few weeks, the Oilers’ wounded corps meant this game was a one-sided affair in favor of Los Angeles.
Darcy Kuemper posted his fifth shutout of the season to move the Kings to a four-point jump on the rival Oilers with six games left. LA didn’t score in the first period, but found the back of the net twice in the second frame before finishing the game off with an empty net in the third.
Kevin Fiala became a 30-goal scorer for the first time in his Kings career and his second time overall, scoring the opener midway through the second period off a rebound that followed Alex Laferriere’s initial shot.
Beyond the 30 goals, I’m really happy for [Fiala], because he hasn’t had the best season, and he’s sitting here with 30 goals,” said head coach Jim Hiller. “That’s not easy to do. Right now, with the way he’s playing, I couldn’t be happier with him.”
Seven minutes later, Andrei Kuzmenko notched his fifth goal as a King and his 11th point since being traded to LA. He ripped a shot from the near side to beat Edmonton goalie Calvin Pickard.
“[Kuzmenko’s] offensive-zone play is very impressive, how he creates stuff when you don’t necessarily think that he can create,” said Kings captain Anže Kopitar. “He’s been getting on the scoresheet, so it’s definitely good for the confidence. Hopefully we can keep on rolling.”
LA went 0-for-4 on its power play chances, but it didn’t matter. Trevor Lewis scored on the vacant net to finish off the 3-0 victory.
If the Calgary Flames lose to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night, LA will clinch a playoff berth for the fourth straight year. For the rest of the regular season, it’ll be a matter of whether the Kings can achieve home ice in the first round, or even capture a division crown. Los Angeles could stand one point back of Pacific-leading Vegas after Saturday depending on the Knights’ outcome against the Flames.
LA is now 2-1-0 versus the Oilers this season.
Talk of Troy reporter Kasey Kazliner was on the scene at Crypto.com Arena and broke down the Kings’ rivalry win on Skate of Thrones, TOT’s LA Kings podcast.