Edmonton Oilers outlast L.A. Kings in shootout

The Edmonton Oilers won their eighth-straight home game Wednesday night with a 4-3 shootout win over the Los Angeles Kings at Rogers Place.

The Oilers move a point back of the Kings for second in the NHL’s Pacific Division.

“I think both teams obviously knew what was at stake,” Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said after the game. ” It was a tight game back and forth. We had two shifts where we kind of fell asleep a little bit there and let them get back into it; that’s something we need to clean up obviously. But other than that, it’s a pretty solid game I thought and were obviously happy we got the extra point.”

The Kings scored on their first shot when Arthur Kaliyev tipped a shot past Edmonton goaltender Mikko Koskinen 2:46 into the game.

The Oilers responded when Cody Ceci drilled a shot past Kings netminder Jonathan Quick for his fifth. With less than two minutes left in the first, Oilers forward Zach Hyman swung a pass in front for Leon Draisaitl, who tapped home his 49th.

Oilers captain Connor McDavid earned his 100th point of the season five minutes into the second. His pass from behind the net went in off Kings winger Alex Iafallo.

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The Kings came right back with two goals 14 seconds apart from Quinton Byfield and Carl Grundstrom.

The Oilers thought they retook the lead halfway through the second when McDavid’s backhand went in off Jesse Puljujarvi’s leg. However, the Kings challenged for goalie interference and Puljujarvi was found guilty of shoving Kings defenceman Tobias Bjornfot into Quick.

The Kings outplayed the Oilers in the third, outshooting them 17-11. A wide-open three-on-three overtime produced no goals with both teams missing on great chances.

In the shootout, Draisaitl and McDavid scored while Koskinen stopped Viktor Arvidsson and Anze Kopitar.

“They’re good shooters,” Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft said of Draisaitl and McDavid. “I think we have good players. I felt comfortable in that situation. Luckily, I’ve seen them before perform in those situations. We have numerous players to pick from, but those are two pretty good ones to start off with.”

The Oilers (38-25-5) will host the St. Louis Blues on Friday.