EDMONTON, Canada—Anze Kopitar’s goal 2:07 into overtime Wednesday night breathed new life into the Los Angeles Kings’ Stanley Cup playoff quest.
Playing in his 94th postseason game to tie Luc Robitaille’s franchise record, Kopitar fired a wrist shot past the glove of Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner on a breakaway to give the Kings a 5–4 victory that evened the opening-round playoff series at one victory apiece.
Game 3 is set for Friday night at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The Kings are attempting to turn the tables this season after having lost first-round playoff series to the Oilers each of the past two years.
Kopitar, the longtime Los Angeles captain, picked up the puck near the Edmonton blue line, moved in on Skinner, and shot from the slot as Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse went down to try to block the shot.
Quinton Byfield and defenseman Mikey Anderson gained assists on the game-winning play.
“Honestly, it was kind of a wacky play where Mikey throws it up the boards, and I think it was Q who tipped it, or was trying to tip it, just to prevent the icing,“ Kopitar said. ”Next thing you know, I had it right on my stick, so I figured I’d make the most of it.”
Kopitar had two assists earlier in the game.
“To see Kopi get that one at the end, great to see the goal go in, but I can tell you for me personally, and I’m sure the guys, just for a guy that’s done as much as he has, to get another overtime game-winning goal was special,” Kings Coach Jim Hiller said. “One game for them, one game for us, and now we go to L.A.”
The Kings rebounded from a 7–4 loss in Monday night’s series opener.
Adrian Kempe scored twice in the first period for Los Angeles. Veteran defenseman Drew Doughty also connected in the first as the Kings took a 3–1 lead. Kevin Fiala scored in the third, and goalie Cam Talbot, a former Oiler, made 27 saves.
Dylan Holloway scored twice for Edmonton, tying it at 4–4 early in the third period. Brett Kulak and Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers, and Skinner stopped 21 shots.
“I thought we played a good game and had the puck most of the night,” Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “They are going to have their looks and their bounces, but I still liked the way we played, and hopefully we can build off of that.”
The teams traded goals early in the third. Fiala gave Los Angeles a 4–3 lead at 1:46, and Holloway tied it at 3:23.
“We all didn’t feel good about our first game, so we had a lot to prove this game, and everyone stepped up their game and Kopi led the way,” said Byfield, who had two assists. “Leaders lead, and that’s what we did. We just followed him, and it was a lot better.”
