Leon Draisaitl capped a brilliant night by scoring a power-play goal at 18:18 of overtime, lifting the Edmonton Oilers to a dramatic 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in Game 4 of their first-round Western Conference series on Sunday night. With the win, the Oilers evened the best-of-seven series at 2-2.
After assisting on Edmonton’s first three goals, Draisaitl found himself perfectly positioned on the right side of the net, where he buried the puck past Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper following a frantic scramble. The Oilers earned the crucial power play after Kings defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov was called for tripping Connor McDavid late in the extra session.
The dramatic finish was set up by Edmonton defenseman Evan Bouchard, who tied the game with just 29 seconds left in regulation. With goaltender Calvin Pickard pulled for an extra attacker, Bouchard hammered a straightaway slap shot from near the blue line that cleanly beat Kuemper. It was Bouchard’s second goal of the night, following an earlier third-period tally that brought the Oilers within 3-2 when his shot deflected off Kings defenseman Drew Doughty’s skate.
Bouchard, who also scored the go-ahead goal in Edmonton’s Game 3 win, has now posted back-to-back two-goal performances, becoming a crucial weapon for the Oilers offensive attack.
Veteran Corey Perry also scored for Edmonton, batting a loose puck out of the air just below the crossbar on a second-period power play. Pickard, making his playoff debut as a starter, was outstanding in net, stopping 38 shots — including several point-blank chances in overtime.
Los Angeles came out strong early, grabbing a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Trevor Moore and Warren Foegele. Moore opened the scoring late in the first period by intercepting a clearing attempt, getting the puck back from Phillip Danault, and beating Pickard with a quick wrist shot. Foegele doubled the advantage just 91 seconds into the second, finishing a determined rush to the net.
Perry’s power-play strike got Edmonton on the board at 4:11 of the second, but the Kings responded quickly. Kevin Fiala restored Los Angeles’ two-goal cushion with a breakaway goal at 7:32 of the period, putting the Kings ahead 3-1.
Despite Kuemper’s heroics — he finished with 44 saves, including 17 in overtime — the Kings couldn’t hold the lead. They now face a pivotal Game 5 on Tuesday night back at Crypto.com Arena.
The Kings, who have not won a playoff series since capturing the Stanley Cup in 2014, will need to find a way to slow down the surging Oilers and, particularly, Draisaitl, who has emerged as the series’ most dominant force.
