Thursday night the Los Angeles Kings massacred the Edmonton Oilers in an 8-2 win at Staples Center.
The Kings executed perfectly to plan.
L.A. got out to an early start and never looked back.
2:23 into the game captain Dustin Brown got the team started. Marian Gaborik followed and Drew Doughty netted his 6th goal of the season to close out the period. After 20-minutes the Kings were up 3-0.
Anze Kopitar picked up 2 assists on the second and third goals, bolstering his team lead at 46 assists on the season.
Edmonton pushed back to start the second period.
After Kyle Clifford went to the Oilers net hard he crashed into Edmonton goaltender Ben Scrivens. It caused a five-on-five scrum as everyone from both teams jumped in to defend their mates. At the end Clifford was assessed a 2-minute penalty for slashing Scrivens.
Los Angeles Kings
15-seconds later Teddy Purcell scored his 11th goal of the season on the power-play, putting Edmonton on the board.
From the middle of the second period to the middle of the third the Kings would go on to score 5 unanswered goals. L.A. got goals from Jordan Nolan, Robyn Regehr, Gaborik again, and Jeff Carter twice. One of Carter’s goals came on the power-play.
Gaborik is pushing Carter for the team lead in goals. Gabby scored his 24th and 25th of the season, Carter scored his 27th and 28th.
Hopefully the Kings will have a couple 30-goal scorers by the time the season is over.
Edmonton’s Jordan Eberle scored his 23rd goal of the season with 1:30 left in the game to spoil Jonathan Quick’s stats. No big deal.
The Kings went 1-for-2 on the power-play and 2-for-3 on the penalty-kill.
L.A. outshot the Oilers 33-30, which made the game seem a lot closer than it was.
The game wasn’t really about the Oilers.
It was about the Kings making a statement to the NHL, the world, and themselves: Watch Out, the Kings are coming.
There’s five games left in the regular season for L.A. and they got some help from the St. Louis Blues and the Chicago Blackhawks last night. The Blues beat the Calgary Flames and the Hawks beat the Vancouver Canucks.
Disregarding the help, if the Kings win out they’re in. No matter what.
L.A. is now tied with the Winnipeg Jets at 90 points; 1 point behind the Flames who have 90, and 5 points behind the Canucks who are close to clinching a playoff spot.
The really big question that everyone in KingsNation wants answered: when did Drew Doughty lose teeth?
End of 1 at @STAPLESCenter. #LAKings with a 3-0 lead over the #Oilers. pic.twitter.com/41WZ8ppNFT
— LA Kings (@LAKings) April 3, 2015
The Kings next game is Saturday night against the Colorado Avalanche. Puck-drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Staples Center.
Next: Is The L.A. Kings Remaining Schedule Playoff Friendly?
Apr 2, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Kings right wing Dustin Brown (23) goes past the bench after scoring a goal during the first period of the game against the Edmonton Oilers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports