Evander Kane collected his first career playoff hat trick, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins both scored twice in three-point outings and the visiting Edmonton Oilers routed the Los Angeles Kings 8-2 in Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round series on Friday.
The Oilers hold a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven set heading into Game 4 on Sunday in Los Angeles.
Leon Draisaitl collected a goal and an assist for the Oilers, while Cody Ceci had three assists and Evan Bouchard and Connor McDavid notched two assists apiece. Edmonton goalie Mike Smith made 44 saves, 19 of them in the first period.
Anze Kopitar produced a goal and an assist and Phillip Danault also scored for the Kings. Starting goalie Jonathan Quick was pulled after surrendering four goals on 17 shots. Cal Petersen stopped 16 of 20 shots in relief.
Draisaitl opened the scoring 3:50 into the game when he finished a two-on-one rush by converting a pass from McDavid. Draisaitl has scored in all three games of the series.
Hyman’s first of the game doubled the lead just over two minutes later, a power-play tap-in tally set up by a McDavid feed.
The Oilers grabbed a 5-0 edge before the midway point.
Kane scored his first at 6:27 of the second period with a rebound goal, a chance created when Ceci intercepted a poor clearing attempt. Hyman netted his second of the game 75 seconds later when he outraced a defender to track a long outlet pass and lifted a wrist shot, which spelled the end for Quick.
Petersen fared not much better when Kane extended the lead by converting another rebound off a Ceci point shot at 9:51 of the second. Kane has scored at least twice in each of the past two games, the first Oilers skater to complete that feat in the postseason since Bernie Nicholls in 1992.
Kopitar put the Kings on the board 16 seconds later, and Danault added a power-play goal with 2:31 remaining in the second frame to give the Kings hope.
However, Nugent-Hopkins quashed those aspirations with a pair of third-period goals 81 seconds apart. He buried the shot on a two-on-one rush with 5:41 remaining in regulation and then redirected Josh Archibald’s pass.
Kane’s goal with 20 seconds left rounded out the scoring and gave him five goals for the playoffs.
–Field Level Media
