Connor McDavid will look to stretch his point streak to a career-high 18 games when the Edmonton Oilers host to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.
McDavid collected a goal and an assist as the Oilers erased a two-goal deficit to edge the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 on Thursday. The superstar captain has 41 points (18 goals, 23 assists) during the 17-game point streak, which matches his career high set in the 2021-22 season and matched in 2022-23.
Defenseman Evan Bouchard added a goal and an assist. Zach Hyman and Vasily Podkolzin also scored for the Oilers, who have won two in a row and 11 of their past 17 games (11-5-1).
Goaltender Calvin Pickard made 13 saves to improve to 5-6-2 this season.
“I liked the fact that we were down 3-1 and we stuck with it,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We didn’t generate very much in the second period, but we still pushed and were finally able to get a second goal at the end of the second period.”
McDavid’s 48 assists lead the league, while his 29 goals trail only Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (36).
Saturday is the first meeting between the Kings and Oilers since the Stanley Cup first-round playoff series last spring, during which Edmonton dispatched Los Angeles in six games. The Oilers have eliminated their Pacific Division rivals in the first round in four consecutive seasons.
The Kings took three of four regular-season contests against the Oilers in 2024-25.
Los Angeles travels to Edmonton for the second half of a back-to-back following a 5-1 loss in Winnipeg on Friday night.
“We started fine,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “Really, it was probably their power play, I think, got some momentum with five minutes left in the first period.
“I would say they had some timely goals. They certainly didn’t spend a lot of time in our zone, but they had some good rush attack; they’ve got some guys that can finish. So that was probably the difference.”
Quinton Byfield scored the lone goal, his seventh of the season, giving him four points over his last four games (two goals, two assists).
Darcy Kuemper allowed five goals on 16 shots before Anton Forsberg entered the game in the third period and made three saves.
Kuemper is 12-8-7 with a .910 save percentage and a 2.50 GAA in 28 starts this season. Forsberg has appeared in 16 games, posting a 6-6-3 record with a 2.64 GAA.
“I mean, (Kuemper’s) played a lot,” Hiller said of the goaltending change. “He gets a couple tough ones, funny bounces, not on him at all, so just felt like at that time, let’s get him out of there and get him some rest, if nothing else.”
Los Angeles travels to Edmonton looking to avoid a third straight loss (0-1-1). The Kings are 4-7-3 over their past 14 games overall.
Kevin Fiala paces the Kings with 16 goals in 43 games, while Adrian Kempe has a team-leading 34 points in that same span.
–Field Level Media
