Kempe's OT winner puts halt to Oilers' valiant comeback effort as Kings sit 1 win away from series victory
Adrian Kempe scored 1:12 into overtime and the L.A. Kings held on for a 5-4 win over the Edmonton Oilers to take a 3-2 lead in their first-round playoff series on Tuesday in Edmonton.
Kempe muscled his way past his defender then wrapped a shot around Edmonton goalie Mike Smith to secure the victory.
The result means the Oilers need a win in Game 6 in L.A. on Thursday to stave off elimination.
Edmonton got two goals and an assist from Leon Draisaitl, while Connor McDavid scored and contributed a pair of helpers. Zack Kassian also scored for the Oilers, who were blanked 4-0 in Game 4 on Sunday.
Jonathan Quick made 24 saves for L.A. and Edmonton's Mike Smith stopped 38-of-43 shots.
CONNOR. MCDAVID. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetsGoOilers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetsGoOilers</a> <a href="https://t.co/UKB8nHRjUg">pic.twitter.com/UKB8nHRjUg</a>
The Oilers came into the third period down 3-1 but used their special teams to claw their way back into the game with two power-play goals and a short-handed tally.
Edmonton scored the equalizer on yet another man advantage with 4:52 left in regulation after Danault was called for interference.
Collecting a slick pass across the slot from McDavid, Draisaitl hammered a one-timer from the bottom of the faceoff circle for his fifth goal of the playoffs and his second of the game.
LEON FROM THE SPOT™ PLAYOFF EDITION. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetsGoOilers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetsGoOilers</a> <a href="https://t.co/dKNR2Oaeiv">pic.twitter.com/dKNR2Oaeiv</a>
A four-minute minor set up much of the action in the third after Ryan McLeod was called for a high stick on Matt Roy 9:13 into the frame.
The Kings took a 4-2 lead at the 11:06 mark when a
