Kings defeat Oilers on late goal by LaDue

LOS ANGELES -- Paul LaDue broke a tie with 5:27 remaining -- the first of three goals in the third period -- to help the Los Angeles Kings defeat the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 at Staples Center on Wednesday.
The Kings moved into third place in the Pacific Division with 63 points, one ahead of the Calgary Flames and Anaheim Ducks.

\[WATCH: All Oilers vs. Kings highlights\]
Darcy Kuemper made 25 saves for his fourth straight win despite having his shutout streak end at 193:58, the second-longest in Los Angeles history behind Jonathan Quick's 202:11 in Oct. 2011.
Adrian Kempe, Kyle Clifford, Alex Iafallo and Anze Kopitar also scored for the Kings (29-19-5), who are 5-2-0 in their past seven games after losing six in a row.

"They obviously gained some momentum in the second," LaDue said. "We took a couple penalties we shouldn't have. I thought we came out strong in the third and we executed to our game plan, and it paid off."
Drew Doughty had two assists and has 301 assists and 401 points in his NHL career. Kings GM Rob Blake is the only other defenseman in Los Angeles history to reach both milestones.
Connor McDavid scored his seventh goal in the past three games, and Leon Draisaitl had a power-play goal for the Oilers (23-25-4), who are 5-2-1 in the past eight games. Cam Talbot made 23 saves.
LaDue put the Kings in front 3-2 on the power play with his second NHL goal. Edmonton challenged for goaltender interference but the play stood as called.
Iafallo scored into an empty net with 1:43 to play to make it 4-2, and Kopitar scored his 21st, also into an empty net, with 1:00 remaining for a 5-2 lead.
The Kings are 24-4-2 when tied or leading after the second period, and boosted their League-best scoring margin in the third period to plus-35.
"These are games we want to win," Clifford said. "We want to have an identity that we're a third-period hockey team, so we came out ready to play."
The Kings took a 1-0 lead 1:10 into the first period on Clifford's second goal, and Kempe made it 2-0 58 seconds into the second with his 16th goal.
"We've been through that scenario too many times this season," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said.
Draisaitl cut the lead to 2-1 at 3:28, scoring the first goal Kuemper allowed after stopping 85 consecutive shots.

McDavid, who scored four goals against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday, tied it at 2-2 at 10:20. He needed several seconds to collect himself after colliding with teammate Jujhar Khaira in the neutral zone, but it left him in the right place for what would become a 1-on-1 break against Doughty off Michael Cammalleri's pass.
"Might have been cheating a little bit high glove, and he made a good shot five-hole and made me look silly," Kuemper said.
Edmonton had three chances to take the lead early in the third, starting when Darnell Nurse's shot hit the post. Kuemper then made a sprawling save to stop Cammalleri's follow-up before Milan Lucic hit the post.
"The post was a good friend of ours tonight," Kings coach John Stevens said. "We had some luck there on those plays there, but at the end of the day I thought the guys dug in, did a good job there and got the ship righted and found a way to win the hockey game before we hit the road."

Goal of the game

LaDue's goal at 14:33 of the third period.

Save of the game

Kuemper's save on Cammalleri at 2:22 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

McDavid's goal at 10:20 of the second period.

They said it

"From this point forward, that's when it is really going to pay dividends. We think we have two goalies that we believe in a great deal. We have two goalies that are capable of winning us hockey games and we're going to need them both down the stretch." -- Kings coach John Stevens on being able to rely on Jonathan Quick and Darcy Kuemper
"We get that question all the time and we don't know what it is. Sometimes we're great off the hop and sometimes we're a little bit sluggish." -- Oilers center Connor McDavid on the team's poor starts

Need to know

Draisaitl has 24 points (six goals, 18 assists) in his past 20 games. … Kopitar passed Butch Goring for fifth in Kings history with his 276th goal. He has 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) in his past 14 games. … Oilers defenseman Adam Larsson missed his fourth straight game following the death of his father. … Kings defenseman Alec Martinez (lower body) missed his second straight game, but Stevens expects him to return during the seven-game trip.

What's next

Oilers:At the Anaheim Ducks on Friday (10 p.m. ET; PRIME, SNW, NHL.TV)
Kings: At the Florida Panthers on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-W, FS-F, NHL.TV)