Saturday night, the shortest player on the Edmonton Oilers roster scored the team’s most important goal.
In Game 6, the Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 5-4 to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Kailer Yamamoto scored with 3:02 remaining for his first point of the series.
The Oilers’ fourth line played a pivotal role in a series dominated by superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. In addition to Yamamoto, Klim Kostin recorded two goals and one assist.
“Early in the series, it did not go in the net, but he continued to shoot. “He persisted and ultimately scored the game-winning goal,” Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft said.
Yamamoto, who spent three years in Los Angeles and played minor hockey for the Jr. Kings, gained possession of the puck deep in the offensive zone, skated around, and then fired a wrist shot through traffic and past Kings goaltender Joonas Korpisalo’s right shoulder and stick.
“Being in this circumstance is quite bizarre. “Playing against them last year gives you hope,” Yamamoto said regarding his game-winning goal against the Kings. “Being able to defeat them is an incredible feeling.”
McDavid and Draisaitl also scored, and Stuart Skinner turned aside 40 shots as the Oilers eliminated the Kings from the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
In the second round, Edmonton faces the Vegas Golden Knights. Three of the four regular-season meetings were won by the Oilers, but Vegas won the Pacific Division by two points en route to the Western Conference’s top seed.
The series will begin in Las Vegas, but the NHL has not yet announced the date of Game 1.
Yamamoto scored the game-winning goal 7:46 into the third period, after a fluke goal by the Kings had tied the game. Phillip Danault capitalised on Skinner’s broken stick to score shorthanded.
“It’s a good thing that we’ve been in situations where you feel like you’re doing a lot of excellent things and the game is tied before. McDavid stated, “You didn’t really do anything wrong, but you had a few bad breaks.” “Down the stretch, Skinner gave us a chance to win, and Yamamoto has obviously stepped up here.”
Kevin Fiala scored a goal and added two assists for Los Angeles, while Adrian Kempe and Sean Durzi scored as well. The Kings have lost their previous four first-round series.
In this game, Viktor Arvidsson, who was switched to the top line, recorded two assists. Korpisalo made 21 saves.
“We blew too many opportunities. Drew Doughty, a defenseman, stated that Korpi had to make a number of crucial saves in the first period. “It is not always about who dominates the game in the postseason. It often comes down to who has the hotter goaltender and who receives the bounces. And, sadly, we did not receive them tonight.”
Since defeating the New York Rangers in six games in 2014 to capture its second Stanley Cup in three years, Los Angeles has not won a postseason series.
“When you score two power-play goals and a short-handed goal against a team like that, you ought to be victorious. And we didn’t,” coach Todd McLellan said.
RALLYING BACK
The Kings tied the game in the second period with two power-play goals scored 100 seconds apart.
At 6:36, Kempe scored his team-leading fifth goal of the postseason from the right faceoff circle. At 8:16, Fiala tied the game when his shot from the back of the left faceoff circle made it through traffic.
ANOTHER QUICK START
85 seconds into the contest, McDavid redirected Bouchard’s shot to give Edmonton an early lead. The Oilers struck within the first two minutes for the fourth time in the last 17 playoff games.
RECORD BOOK
Evan Bouchard’s assist on Draisaitl’s goal tied the NHL record for most power-play points by a defenseman in a postseason series. It was Bouchard’s sixth assist and eighth point with the man advantage, tying him with Denis Potvin (twice), John Carlson, and Paul Coffey.
THE BIG THREE
The Edmonton Oilers joined the Winnipeg Jets (2018 second round) and Ottawa Senators (2006 Eastern Conference quarterfinals) as the third team in the last 25 years to have three 10-point scorers in a single series.
Draisaitl had 11 points (seven goals and four assists), McDavid (three goals and seven assists) and Bouchard (two goals and eight assists) each had 10 points.
