Oilers lose ground in Pacific race

The Edmonton Oilers are four points back in the Pacific Division race following a 6-4 loss against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center on Tuesday.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two goals, Milan Lucic and Darnell Nurse scored and Cam Talbot made 21 saves for the Oilers (44-26-9), who are chasing the Anaheim Ducks for first place in the Pacific. Anaheim won 3-1 against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.

WATCH: All Oilers vs. Kings highlights
Nicholas Shore had a goal and three assists for the Kings (38-34-7). Dustin Brown, Nic Dowd, Trevor Lewis, Tanner Pearson and Drew Doughty also scored, and Jonathan Quick made 23 saves. The Kings have been eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention.
"I think teams kind of go through that; you play well and you have an off-night, and tonight just kind of seemed like an off-night," Nugent-Hopkins said. "We know what time of the year it is and everybody is still pushing. We're obviously still fighting for position here. Nobody is not trying, it's just a matter of sharpening up and making sure that we bring a consistent effort every night."
Lucic scored on the power play at 2:31 of the first period to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead. Lucic picked up a rebound in front following a rush by Connor McDavid and slid the puck underneath Quick.
Nugent-Hopkins scored at 11:13 when he converted a pass by Jordan Eberle from behind the net to make it 2-0.
Shore scored at 2:22 of the second period when he tipped Jonny Brodzinski's shot past Talbot to make it 2-1. Brown tied it at 12:29 of the second period when he took a pass from Shore in the slot and put a shot past Talbot.

"I think we still have to be on our game with the teams we are playing," Pearson said. "There are teams still battling for points in the standings, and especially those guys (Edmonton) to catch Anaheim. Every game is going to be hard fought, and we just have to keep going until the end."
Dowd gave the Kings a 3-2 lead at 15:30 on a rebound in front, but Nugent-Hopkins scored his second goal of the game at 16:46 on an individual effort to make it 3-3.
Lewis gave the Kings a 4-3 lead at 1:40 of the third period. Talbot made a save on a shot from Shore, but the rebound bounced off Lewis and into the net. Pearson made it 5-3 when he took a pass from Shore and beat Quick from the slot after a turnover by Leon Draisaitl at 10:09 of the third.
Nurse scored at 13:48 on a long point shot that eluded Quick to make it 5-4. The goal was reviewed for a possible high stick by Draisaitl but was upheld.
Doughty scored into an empty net with Talbot pulled for an extra attacker at 18:39.
"Anytime you give up five goals in a game, there are things you are not very happy with," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. "I thought we had some really good performances from some individuals and some poor ones. The ones that were on the poor end have to look at their game and evaluate what went right and what didn't go right."

Goal of the game

Nugent-Hopkins took the puck into the Kings zone, skated between Doughty and Derek Forbort and beat Quick with an excellent move to tie the game 3-3.

Save of the game

Talbot made a save against Tyler Toffoli on a 2-on-0 break with 1:25 left in the first period.

Unsung performance of the game

Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin had five hits, two blocked shots and two shots on goal in 21:17 of ice time.

Highlight of the game

Tyler Toffoli collected a turnover in the Oilers zone and slid the puck to Pearson, who put a shot over Talbot for the game-winning goal.

They said it

"At this time of the year, that little lull between playoffs and finishing up the regular season, you can't let your game dip. We've talked about that as a team. There is not enough practice time, there is not enough games to get it back. If you go to sleep or you don't think it's important on a given night, good luck getting it back." -- Oilers coach Todd McLellan
"I thought we gave them too many Grade A chances. They had a 2-on-0 at one point, a couple of slot chances and we left [Talbot] out to dry, and that's not how you win." -- Oilers forward Jordan Eberle
"It's kind of weird. You get removed from the playoffs, and then you come out with a six goal game the next day, so it would have been nice to have that a couple games ago." -- Kings forward Tanner Pearson

Need to know

McDavid leads the NHL with 95 points (29 goals, 66 assists). … The Kings have won 11 consecutive games against the Oilers (11-0-0) at Staples Center. The Oilers' most recent victory in Los Angeles was a 3-0 win on Nov. 3, 2011. … Draisaitl had his 10-game point streak end. ... Brodzinski had his first two NHL points with two assists.

What's next

Oilers: At the San Jose Sharks on Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCS CA+, SNW, NHL.TV)
Kings: Host the Calgary Flames on Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET; SN360, FS-W, NHL.TV)