The Edmonton Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings in overtime 4-3 to even up the first-round series 2-2 after a great goal by center Leon Draisaitl.
With all the pressure on the Kings' defense in overtime, the Oilers went on a powerplay after L.A. defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov was called for a trip at the end of his two-and-a-half-minute shift. Edmonton kept the puck in the offensive zone and took a shot from the center of the ice from winger Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, which was redirected right in front of the net by center Connor McDavid. Winger Corey Perry knocked the puck backward off his backhand, which would find its way onto Draisaitl's stick to end the game and tie up the series with less than two minutes left in the first overtime period to make the final score 4-3.
The narrative on special teams has completely flipped. In the first two games, the Oilers were 0/5 on their powerplay, but in Games 3 and 4, they have converted four of their last five man-up chances.
After the game, winger Warren Foegele was asked if this loss was more painful than the last one.
"I think they are all painful no? At the end of the day... the first one to four wins. Obviously we are disappointed."
The game started, though, with minimal action during the first period.
The Kings would hop on the scoreboard first with a goal from winger Trevor Moore. With about nine-and-a-half minutes to play in the first frame, the Kings applied a great forecheck to cause a turnover in the Oilers' zone. Moore came away with it on the far wall, walked toward the right circle and ripped a shot five-hole on Edmonton goaltender Calvin Pickard for the first goal in the game.
Los Angeles also scored to start the second period, giving themselves a two-goal lead that they have had numerous times in this series. A great play from the point to poke the puck forward on an odd break from center Phillip Danault went straight in front of the net to former Oiler Foegele. He then made a toe-drag to get around Pickard and slide in another goal to make the score 2-0 just over 90 seconds into the second frame. This was his first goal of the post-season so far and his third point.
After the game, head coach Jim Hiller mentioned that Danault has been playing well recently.
"The best hockey I have seen him play... he's been really really good," Hiller said. "It's always great to see guys rise above. He's one of the guys that has done that so far."
The Oilers scored their first goal of the game under three minutes later when Perry showed off his hand-eye coordination on one of the better goals one will see in this Stanley Cup Playoff. On the powerplay, Perry received a pass from Draisaitl when he shot a backhand initially blockered away by Kings' goaltender Darcy Kuemper. Perry, then, tipped the puck up and over Kuemper --- without it hitting the ice --- and then batted it into the open net to make the score 2-1.
Los Angeles regained their two-goal lead under three minutes after Perry's goal on a breakaway from winger Kevin Fiala. After a great stretch pass from winger Alex Laferriere, Fiala was one-on-one with Pickard and let a wrister fly, which squeaked through the arm and chest protector and into the back of the net to make the score 3-1.
With the Kings up two, the Oilers stepped all the way down on the accelerator in the third to make up the deficit in dramatic fashion. After the game, Foegele talked about how Edmonton got back in the game.
"A couple of lucky bounces to be honest," Foegele said. "That second goal, it hit a stick and then it bounces off the ice... They pushed hard, but I really liked our game today. I thought we came out with high intensity and we just didn't get the bounces."
Edmonton's first of a three-goal run to win the game came from defenseman Evan Bouchard. On a broken play, Bouchard whacked at a deflected Draisaitl shot, which managed to fly off Kings' defenseman Drew Doughty's skate and into the net. With luck on their side, the Oilers brought the score to 3-2 with about 12 minutes remaining in regulation.
"Right before they tied it, I think [Fiala] came down and hit the post," Foegele said. "So we are talking about bounces, game of inches. I thought we pushed a lot harder in this third than in Game 3, but we just didn't get the bounces."
Bouchard also scored the second and final goal of regulation with 29 seconds remaining on the game clock to tie the game at three. After pulling their goalie for an extra attacker, the Oilers seemed to have all the pressure on the Kings' defense. After working the puck around the horn, Bouchard passed it to Draisaitl and got a return pass for the one-timer at the point that would travel past Kuemper.
The Oilers would basically hold the puck all of overtime, with the Kings only getting a handful of not-fantastic chances. In the extra frame, Kuemper stopped 18 of the 19 shots he faced, numerous of which were back-to-back at point-blank range.
It wasn't until the Gavrikov penalty that the Oilers struck to tie the series at two apiece, heading back to Los Angeles.
"We are looking forward to going home, we like playing at home," Foegele said. "We are comfortable there. Now it's best of three."
With both teams winning their two home games, a crucial Game 5 looms overhead on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Crypto.com Arena.