{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Hockey League
Los Angeles 6, Edmonton 4
When: 10:30 PM ET, Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Referees: Chris Lee, Justin St. Pierre
Linesmen: Tim Nowak, Vaughan Rody
Attendance: 18230

LOS ANGELES -- If the Los Angeles Kings produced offense all season as they did against the Edmonton Oilers, their win Tuesday may not have been a meaningless effort.

Nick Shore registered a goal and three assists and Dustin Brown added a goal and an assist as the Kings defeated the Edmonton Oilers 6-4.

Los Angeles (38-34-7) won for the third time in its last four games. Rookie Jonny Brodzinski registered his first two NHL points, with two assists. Jonathan Quick stopped 23 Edmonton shots.

Edmonton (44-26-9) saw a five-game winning streak snapped and trails the Anaheim Ducks for first place in the Pacific Division by four points, with a game in hand and three games remaining. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored two goals for the Oilers.

In the race for second place in the Pacific, the Sharks and the Oilers each have 97 points, but Edmonton has one additional game remaining. The teams meet in San Jose on Thursday.

With offensive struggles a major contributor to the Kings missing the postseason for the second time in three seasons, the six-goal outburst against the playoff-bound Oilers was a surprise. It was only the third game this season in which Los Angeles registered at least six goals.

"It's kind of weird," Kings winger Tanner Pearson said. "You get removed from the playoffs, and then you come out with a six-goal game the next day, so it would have been nice to have that a couple games ago."

For Shore, who like most Kings has endured season-long offensive struggles, Edmonton is one of few teams he has been able to produce against. His performance lifted his total to eight points (three goals) in 10 games against the Oilers.

"I think we were just executing on the chances that we had, and there have been some looks that we have had in the last couple games," Shore said. "Tonight they went in."

The loss was a blow to Edmonton's chances of capturing its first division title since 1987, but coach Todd McLellan chose to look at the positives.

"I thought our second line was tremendous," McLellan said. "I thought Nugent-Hopkins had one of his better games of the season. Milan Lucic has been good for a long, long time and Jordan Eberle competed in a heavy, hard game, which was very good for us."

The Kings took the lead for good via third-period goals by Trevor Lewis and Pearson. Lewis' 11th goal of the season, at 1:40, gave the Kings the lead for good. Pearson added the decisive goal, his 24th of the season, at 10:09.

Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse scored his sixth goal of the season at 13:48 to draw the Oilers to within 5-4, but Drew Doughty added an empty-net goal, his 10th score of the season, at 18:39 for the final margin.

Edmonton took a 1-0 lead on Lucic's 20th goal of the season on the power play at 2:31 of the first period. Lucic gathered in the puck after a failed clearance by Kings defenseman Derek Forbort off a Connor McDavid rush, and the Oilers' winger easily beat Quick. Oscar Klefbom drew the secondary assist.

The Oilers extended their lead to 2-0 on Nugent-Hopkins' 17th goal of the season, at 11:13 of the first period. Eberle gained possession and was left alone behind the Los Angeles net. He found Nugent-Hopkins at the left post for an easy tap-in, with Kris Russell earning the secondary helper.

The Kings fashioned a three-goal, second-period comeback to take a short-lived 3-2 lead. Shore scored his sixth goal of the season to draw Los Angeles within one at 2:22, and Brown potted his 12th at 12:29 to forge the first tie of the game. Nic Dowd then added his sixth goal at 15:30 to give Los Angeles its first lead.

Edmonton quickly responded to tie the game at 3-3. Nugent-Hopkins potted his second goal by splitting Doughty and Forbort to beat Quick with a backhander at 16:46.

NOTES: Edmonton scratched C Matt Hendricks, RW Iiro Pakarinen and D Eric Gryba. ... In addition to Connor McDavid leading the league in scoring, Edmonton RW Leon Draisaitl moved into the eighth spot. He has 75 points (27 goals) through 79 games, setting career highs for points, goals and assists. The last time the Oilers finished an NHL season with two top-10 scorers was in 1988-89 (Jari Kurri was eighth, Jimmy Carson ninth). ... Los Angeles did not dress RW Marian Gaborik, C Andy Andreoff, D Kevin Gravel and C Jordan Nolan. ... With his next goal, Kings RW Jarome Iginla will surpass Joe Sakic for 15th all-time in goals scored, and Iginla's next point will give him 1,300.
Top Game Performances
 
Edmonton   Los Angeles
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 2 Points Nick Shore 4
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 2 Goals Nick Shore 1
Darnell Nurse 1 Assists Nick Shore 3
Milan Lucic 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Cam Talbot .808 Save Percentage Jonathan Quick .852
Cam Talbot 21 Saves Jonathan Quick 23
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Edmonton 27 4 1-3 3-3 6 19
Los Angeles 27 6 0-3 2-3 6 36
Upcoming Games
  • Los Angeles will play their next game at home against Calgary. The Kings have a W/L % of .486 after a win and .476 after a loss.
  • Edmonton will play their next game on the road against San Jose. The Oilers have a W/L % of .614 after a win and .486 after a loss.