The Edmonton Oilers won their series against the Los Angeles Kings in six games with a 5-4 victory on Saturday.
Kailer Yamamoto scored the winning goal with three minutes left in the game. The striker deceived the vigilance of Joonas Korpisalo with a shot while turning from the top of the enclave.
Edmonton joins the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round of the playoffs.
Los Angeles lost for the second straight year against the Oilers in the first round.
Stuart Skinner made 40 saves in the win. On the other side, Korpisalo made 21 saves on 26 shots.
Who else but Connor McDavid to score the first goal of the clash? The Oilers star deftly deflected Evan Bouchard’s low shot past Korpisalo to open the scoring.
Moments later, defender Sean Durzi got the Crypto.com Arena crowd going by tying the score. His wrist shot from the top of the circles eluded the vigilance of Skinner, who had his view blocked by two players.
Klim Kostin restored the lead to his side with an excellent wrist shot against the direction of the enclave. The forward took advantage of a fast attack and a foggy Korpisalo to score his second career playoff goal.
The Oilers’ power play proved why she was formidable. Leon Draisaitl accepted the discount from McDavid to score a third goal in as many games to give the visitors a comfortable lead. This goal is the 70th point of the German striker’s career in the playoffs.
Only a few minutes later, it’s the Kings’ turn to take advantage of an extra man. Adrian Kempe eluded Skinner’s vigilance first. Then, Kevin Fiala did it again on the power play to tie the game.
Kostin later gave the Oilers confidence. The Russian forward pounced on a loose puck in the slot to score his second goal of the night shortly after halfway through the second period.
Halfway through the third period, Phillip Danault took advantage of Stuart Skinner’s largesse to put the puck in the back of the net and tie the game. The goaltender wanted to restart the Oilers attack, but his stick broke and he dropped the puck. Danault then sent him into the goal.
