The part Edmonton fans will retell is the minute that cracked the game open. Leon Draisaitl snapped the Oilers ahead at 7:16 of the first, and just 60 seconds later Vasily Podkolzin cashed on the power play after Drew Doughty’s tripping minor. Before the period was done, Connor McDavid had slipped in a backhand at 15:48, and a road game in Los Angeles had turned into a 3-0 Edmonton statement.
The Kings made their push late in the second, with Brandt Clarke cutting it to 3-1 at 17:29 on a wrist shot. Edmonton had to work through its own penalties, including three minors across the second and third, but the lead never really got away from them.
The dagger came with 2:18 left: Podkolzin’s second of the night, an empty-net wrist shot set up by McDavid and Draisaitl. McDavid finished with a goal and three assists, Podkolzin had two goals, Draisaitl had a goal and an assist, and D. Levi’s .975 save percentage told the rest of the story in a clean 4-1 Oilers win.