Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar got behind the Edmonton Oilers defense, beating Stuart Skinner to help the Kings win 5-4 in an overtime victory in Game 2. The series moves to Los Angeles on Friday night for Game 3.
Beating the Oilers at home is no easy task. They were 28–9–4 in the regular season on home ice. But the King’s defense is their identity, and that was the difference in game 2. Kopitar said he was in the right place at the right time. “I was just kinda hanging out in the middle of the ice, and the puck bounced; next thing you know, it was on my tape, and I figured out I would give it a shot, and it worked out.”
Kings Come Out Strong in the First Period
Los Angeles took an early lead in Game 2 after a bad turnover by Evan Bouchard in Edmonton’s own end. Kopitar grabbed the puck at the blue line and hit Adrian Kempe in the slot for a 1-0 Kings lead at 3:19 of the first. It was the Kings’ first lead in the series.
The Kemp-Kopitar connection gave the Kings a 2-0 lead near the end of the first period. Kempe took a pass from Kopitar breaking fast across the blue line. This time, Kempe batted the puck out of mid-air and past Stuart Skinner.
Edmonton got on the board with a strong Brett Kulak one-timer from at the point. It was his second career playoff goal. He got the pass from Leon Draisaitl. The other assist went to Warren Foegele.
The Kings got their two-goal lead back just 29 seconds later. Drew Doughty made it 3-1 on a breakaway from a beautiful Viktor Arvidsson backhand pass; Phillip Danault got the secondary assist. It was Doughty’s first playoff goal in ten years.
The Los Angeles defense looked more like what we’re used to seeing. The Oilers had 10 shots but not many great chances. The Kings ended the first with three goals on just seven shots heading into the room for the first intermission.
Edmonton Ties it Up in the Second
That changed in the second period. Edmonton pulled within one on the first career playoff goal for 22-year-old Dylan Holloway. He got free in the slot and buried a wrister to make it 3-2 at 7:51 of the second.
You could feel the crowd erupt at Rogers Place when Edmonton tied the game on the power play three minutes later. Zach Hyman shot into an open net after a great pass from Draisaitl through the Kings penalty killers. Connor McDavid got his sixth assist in the first four-and-a-half periods of the series.
Tight Third Period, Holloway Scores Again
Kevin Fiala broke the tie early in the third with a rocket from the half wall that got through some bodies past Skinner. The Kings took the lead 4-3 at 1:48 of the third.
That lead lasted less than two minutes. Holloway scored again to tie the game at four with a shot from the top of the circle. It’s his second career playoff goal and his second of the game. The goal came on a three-on-two break, and Mattias Janmark got the only assist.
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Bradley Tachco is a career journalist. I spent 12+ years at CNN as a writer and producer. My sports: NHL, MLB, NFL. My goal: unique content. And my teams are the Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bills (yes, I’m a masochist), and the Los Angeles Dodgers. I have been a Dodgers fan since I was old enough to think. I have gone through decades of despair with all three franchises. You can follow Bradley on X @p09691
