Oilers ease past Kings in Game 5, take lead in Western 1st Round

EDMONTON -- Nick Bjugstad scored twice for the Edmonton Oilers in a 6-3 win against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round at Rogers Place on Tuesday.

Edmonton leads 3-2 in the best-of-7 series. Game 6 will be played at Los Angeles on Saturday.
"I just focused on getting in front of the net, that's a big thing with (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) and (Zach) Hyman," Bjugstad said. "He's digging all the time and 'Nuge' can make plays, so I just made an emphasis to try and get to the net."

Connor McDavid, Darnell Nurse and Mattias Ekholm each had two assists for the Oilers, the No. 2 seed in the Pacific Division.
Stuart Skinner made 25 saves; he was pulled in Game 4 after allowing three goals on 11 shots in the first period.
"I thought it was just huge that we were able to get the win," Skinner said. "The guys in front of me did an outstanding job. Obviously, we were able to score a few goals, which was huge. I think just how we played all night defensively, in the neutral zone, we definitely wanted it tonight.
"Obviously, I've had to go through a lot of experiences to kind of get me to where I am, have the demeanor that you guys (the media) might see. After every single day, tomorrow when we come to the rink, it's another day at work. That just continues. I've got a job to do and I'm going to do my best to do that every day."
RELATED: [Complete Oilers vs. Kings series coverage]
Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist for the Kings, the No. 3 seed in the Pacific. Joonas Korpisalo allowed four goals on 19 shots before being pulled in the second period. Pheonix Copley made six saves in relief.
"I think we've got to clean up some stuff from tonight," Kempe said. "Our play in our own zone really wasn't good from the start. [We've got to] stay out of the box as much as we can; it's a big factor. They got two tonight on the power play, so it was a big factor as well.
"I think other than that, I think we keep playing aggressive. I haven't really thought about the game too much right now, but we'll go back and look at it tomorrow and see what we can do better."
Evander Kane gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead on a power play at 8:08 of the first period with a wrist shot from the left face-off circle, and Leon Draisaitl made it 2-0 at 10:40, knocking in McDavid's feed from behind the net for his sixth goal of the series.

Alex Iafallo cut it to 2-1 at 13:12 on a rebound of Kempe's shot after Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard was unable to clear the zone, but Brett Kulak scored at 14:12 when he one-timed a cross-ice feed from Ryan McLeod to give Edmonton a 3-1 lead.
Kempe cut it to 3-2 at 17:35. He eluded Oilers forward Kailer Yamamoto, took a pass from Carl Grundstrom and roofed a shot over Skinner for his fourth goal of the series.
Bjugstad restored Edmonton's two-goal lead at 11:49 of the second period when he redirected Cody Ceci's wrist shot from the point to make it 4-2.
Copley replaced Korpisalo after the goal.
"It was overwhelming early in the game, but when we made it 3-2, we had an opportunity to get back in," Los Angeles coach Todd McLellan said. "That fourth one really hurt us, obviously, and then from there, there was no catching up. That obviously wasn't good enough. [It] wasn't close to good enough. It probably doesn't get you a win in Game 2 of the regular season. So, move on.
"We have to bring our best to Game 6 to even have an opportunity at the series. And I'm confident our group can do that."
Hyman made it 5-2 at 15:47 with another deflection, this one off a Bouchard slap shot from the point that hit him in the face on its way past Copley.

Bjugstad scored again at 4:26 of the third period when his centering feed went off the skate of Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson and past Copley to make it 6-2.
"I didn't know I had that second one; I thought 'Hymes' did, so that was a fortunate one," Bjugstad said. "I think just as a unit, a five-man unit all night, everyone was together and on the same page, and that's what it takes to win here."
Quinton Byfield scored his first Stanley Cup Playoff goal at 6:33 after a feed from behind the net by Gabriel Vilardi for the 6-3 final.
NOTES: The Kings held a 3-2 lead against the Oilers in the first round last season but lost the series in seven games. … Kempe extended his point streak to five games. … Kane has 16 goals in 20 playoff games with Edmonton … The Oilers are 8-for-14 on the power play in the series (57.1 percent). … Kulak scored his first NHL playoff goal in his 44th game.