The Edmonton Oilers enjoyed a great bounce-back game. Connor McDavid registered his ninth 100-point season on Thursday night with a goal and an assist. Leon Draisaitl also had a night to remember with a goal and three assists. The pair helped the Oilers end their four-game losing streak with an 8-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.
McDavid’s goal was his 35th of the season, and Draisaitl registered his 30th. Thursday was the fourth four-point game of the season for Draisaitl. The Oilers once again humiliated the Kings, a team they’ve eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in each of the past four seasons.
Oilers defenseman Jake Walman registered two goals. Zach Hyman registered a goal and two assists. Ty Emberson, Vasily Podkolzin, and Andrew Mangiapane all netted a goal in Edmonton’s impressive bounce-back game after a painful 6-5 loss in Anaheim. Oilers goaltender Connor Ingram stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced. Edmonton has registered 13 goals in two games since returning from the Olympic break.
Warren Foegele scored the Kings’ only goal. They have lost five straight games since January. The Kings’ third-period collapse against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday continued on Thursday. When Hyman scored Edmonton’s fifth goal (power-play) of the game in the second period, the Kings had allowed 10 goals in their past 41 minutes of play.
Oilers Humiliated Kuemper
Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper allowed four goals on 15 shots before being pulled early in the second period for Anton Forsberg. Some Kings fans started to target coach Jim Hiller for the recent struggles. They were repeatedly chanting “Fire Hiller!” in the third period.
When Emberson opened the scoring, it was his first goal since October 28th. The craziest goal of the night goes to McDavid. He made it 4-1 when Kuemper fell six feet outside his crease to leave the NHL’s top scorer with an open net.
Edmonton will look to build on this win when they play the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. They will then host their first post-Olympic home game on March 3rd against the Ottawa Senators. It has been almost exactly a month since their last home game on February 4th.
