Global Courant 2023-04-26 09:40:36
Nick Bjugstad scored a pair of goals for the Oilers in Tuesday’s 6-3 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Kings as Edmonton took a 3-2 lead in their playoff series.
The Oilers are one win away from advancing to the second round. Game 6 is Saturday in Los Angeles. A Game 7, if necessary, would be in Edmonton on Monday.
Leon Draisaitl, Evander Kane, Zach Hyman and Brett Kulak also scored for Edmonton.
Captain Connor McDavid had a few assists, as did defenders Mattias Ekholm and Darnell Nurse.
Stuart Skinner returned to Edmonton’s net after being traded for Jack Campbell for a period in Edmonton’s Game 4 overtime win on Sunday.
The 24-year-old Edmontonian made 25 saves for the win.
LOOK | Bjugstad scores a pair to help Oilers take the series lead:
Oilers defeat Kings in Game 5 as Bjugstad scores twice
Edmonton is one win away from advancing to the second round after beating Los Angeles 6-3 to take a 3-2 lead in their playoff series. Nick Bjugstad scores a few goals, including the match winner.
His Los Angeles counterpart, Joonas Korpisalo, was pulled to Phoenix Copley in Tuesday’s second period after Edmonton’s fourth goal.
Korpisalo, who got more rubber than any other goalkeeper this post-season, stopped 15 of 19 shots before making way for Copley and his six saves.
Quinton Byfield, Adrian Kempe and Alex Iafallo scored for the Kings.
When the two clubs clashed in the first round last year, the Kings claimed Game 5 to take the series lead to Los Angeles, where the Oilers won back-to-back.
Edmonton now has a chance in this series to close it down on the road.
The Oilers killed their lone penalty and scored on two of three power play chances on Tuesday to go eight-for-14 with a man advantage in the series.
Bjugstad scored his second of the game at 4:26 of the third period.
His floating backhand towards the net went off Kings defender Mikey Anderson’s skate and over the goal line.
Byfield scored the Kings’ third goal at 6:33, firing overhead at Skinner from the door of the Edmonton goalkeeper.
Game 4 overtime hero Hyman scored Edmonton’s fifth goal with his face.
The puck that flew back and forth on an Evan Bouchard slap shot bounced off Hyman’s cheek and under Copley at 15:47 of the second period, when there were only 10 seconds left in Kevin Fiala’s stumbling penalty.
Hyman shrugged off the discomfort and continued playing.
Now that’s using your head pic.twitter.com/89kEwiQ4aM
But a turning point for Edmonton was the continued offensive pressure midway through the second period. Unit after unit, the puck cycled and worked hard to keep it offside.
Their reward for that effort was Bjugstad tapping in Cody Ceci’s shot from the blue line at 11:49 for a 4-2 lead.
As in the first two games of this series at Rogers Place, the Oilers took an early 2-0 lead. But Edmonton led 3-2 after the opening period.
Kempe chipped the puck over Skinner at 5:35 p.m. to lure the visitors into a goal.
Corner Ryan McLeod hit the puck across the ice for Korpisalo so that Kulak sneaks past Byfield and beats Korpisalo at 14:12.
A minute earlier, Iafallo scored LA’s second of the game by cutting off a rebound from a Kempe spinaround attempt past Skinner.
McDavid sets up Draisaitl
Draisaitl made it 2-0 for the hosts at 10:40 on McDavid’s feed from behind the goal line.
Draisaitl went down when pushed by Byfield, but got a shot away to beat Korpisalo for his NHL-leading sixth playoff goal.
With Carl Grundstrom in the penalty area for hooking McDavid, Kane walked to the throw-in circle and fired from the far post into the net at 8:08 with just four seconds left in the penalty.
The Kings defeated forward Blake Lizotte (lower body) for a third straight game. Edmonton was without forward Mattias Janmark for a fourth game after blocking a shot with his foot in Game 1.
