Evan Bouchard had a goal and two assists as the Edmonton Oilers secured a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings Thursday night.
“Coming into it we knew we had to play a solid game against L.A.,” Bouchard said after the game. “We know the way they want to play and they’ve been really strong recently, so it’s good to just come out with the win here.”
The Oilers have won six in a row for the first time since December 2015. They move three points ahead of the Kings for second in the Pacific Division.
“I thought it was a complete 60-minute effort in terms of finding a way to win a game,” Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft said. “I thought our first period was excellent. We played fast — had a little bit of a hiccup after we gave up a shorthanded goal there, but we got it back on the rails the last six or so minutes of the second period, and I thought it was a competitive third period.”
The Oilers outplayed the Kings in the first period and grabbed the lead at the 3:17 mark. Bouchard found Connor McDavid blazing down the left side. He beat Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick short side for his 42nd goal of the season, extending his point streak to 15 games.
The Kings pulled even early in the second. They forced a turnover inside the Oilers’ blue line, allowing Trevor Moore to break in for a shorthanded goal.
The Kings outshot the Oilers 17-10 in the second but Edmonton had the lead going to the third. Oilers forward Derek Ryan set up Warren Foegele for his 10th with 4:34 left in the second.
Four minutes into the third, Bouchard blasted a point shot past Quick for his first goal since Jan. 27. The Kings came right back on a goal by Viktor Arvidsson.
With Quick pulled in the final two minutes, Arvidsson blasted a one-timer from the left side. Oilers netminder Mike Smith got across to make the save.
Smith finished with 31 saves. He stopped 93 of 97 shots in going 3-0 on the road trip.
“Going into the playoffs you’re going to have to find different ways to win; and doing that the last couple games is just helping us get more growth as a team and being more mature out there on the ice and stuff like that, so you just take it as a positive and you keep moving forward,” Warren Foegele said.
The Oilers (42-25-5) will host Colorado on Saturday.
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