LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Kings jumped out to a three-goal lead for the second straight game against the Edmonton Oilers and fended off another comeback Wednesday night for a convincing 6-2 Game 2 win at Crypto.com Arena.
It is the first 2-0 lead for the Kings in any series since holding that advantage over the New York Rangers in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, which they went on to win in five games for their second title in a three-year span.
This is the sixth playoff series for the Kings since then and they are still trying to break through and advance to the second round. The last four battles have been against the Oilers, and this is their best chance since having a 2-1 advantage in 2023 and a 3-0 lead in a pivotal Game 4 they went on to lose.
Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves and the Kings supported him with more offense. Adrian Kempe scored twice, while Brandt Clarke, Quinton Byfield, Andrei Kuzmenko and Anže Kopitar also had goals. Byfield, Kuzmenko and Kempe also scored in their 6-5 Game 1 triumph Monday, a game where Edmonton came back from 4-0 and 5-2 deficits.
Leon Draisaitl, who had a Game 1 goal, pulled Edmonton to within 3-1 in the second on a neat redirection goal off a pass from John Klingberg. Klingberg made his first appearance in the series after being scratched in Game 1.
The Oilers pulled closer early in the third as Viktor Arvidsson, who played the previous three seasons with Los Angeles, won a battle for position in front of Kuemper and tipped in a Brett Kulak point shot. Kempe would answer with a wrist shot that cleanly beat Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner.
A key to the first two games was the Kings jumping out early. They had the Oilers playing from behind again thanks to a power play that continues to cook, with Clarke scoring in the first period and Kuzmenko banging in a hard carom off the end boards that resulted from Kempe’s point shot. The Kings went 2-for-5 with the advantage in Game 1.
This story will be updated.
(Photo: Harry How / Getty Images)