GAME RECAP: Kings 4, Oilers 0

LOS ANGELES, CA – David Rittich stopped all 26 shots he faced and Quinton Byfield tallied two goals and an assist as the Los Angeles Kings blanked the Oilers 4-0 on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.

Playing the second half of their Southern California back-to-back after beating the Anaheim Ducks 5-3 on Friday, the Oilers were outplayed by their first-round playoff opponent from the past two seasons, as the Kings were victorious in their first game under interim head coach Jim Hiller.

"They just played better than us, to be honest," Zach Hyman said after Edmonton's second loss in three games after going 16 in a row without a defeat prior to the NHL All-Star break.

Special teams were a determining factor in the matchup as Edmonton was unable to score on four power plays while also surrendering a man-advantage goal against to the Kings.

"During our winning streak, the special teams battle, we always came out on top, or at least tied," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "I think there was a stretch since mid-December that we went through that whole time without losing that special teams battle. And now tonight we lost it. And that just makes it harder to win games when that happens."

FIRST PERIOD

Saturday was the Kings' first action in a week and a half and it showed in the opening frame as there was a noticeable feeling-out process for the home side during the initial 10 minutes, with neither team generating much in the way of dangerous scoring chances.

The action picked up in the latter stages of the period, though, particularly when Leon Draisaitl and Carl Grundstrom took off-setting roughing minors after battling along the end boards, creating a four-on-four scenario that opened up the ice.

Los Angeles had the best opportunity to crack the goose egg during this stretch as Kevin Fiala got the puck alone in front of the Oilers net, but Stuart Skinner made a sensational sprawling glove save to keep the score 0-0 heading into the intermission.

"I thought in the first period we did a pretty good job of managing the game," Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said of the opening 20. "We knew they were going to come out pretty fast. A couple changes for them and coming back from the break."

SECOND PERIOD

A tripping penalty from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins sent the Kings to the power play just 71 seconds into the middle frame. Skinner made a big save on Drew Doughty, but just after the ensuing faceoff, Pierre-Luc Dubois was able to solve the Oilers netminder with a well-placed wrist shot for the third PPG allowed by Edmonton in four chances during the California back-to-back.

The team's PK struggles came on the heels of going seven straight games without giving up a PPG.

Just 49 seconds after the 1-0 goal from Dubois, the Kings extended their lead to 2-0 when Byfield set up Trevor Lewis on a two-on-one rush after Connor McDavid had the puck stolen from him just inside the Los Angeles blue line. Mattias Ekholm was the lone man back after his defence partner Evan Bouchard was pressing on the attack.

With nine minutes to go in the period, the Oilers had their best chance of the game to that point to get on the board as Draisaitl found Corey Perry alone at the side of the net, but Rittich made an exceptional pad save and denied Evander Kane on the rebound for good measure.

The Oilers finished the frame with three consecutive power plays – two as the result of Kings too-many-men infractions – but they were unable to convert and entered the third down by a pair.

"The second period I thought we played really well and had our opportunities," Knoblauch said. "Not being able to capitalize on the amount of chances that we had, and we got out-scored 2-0, I think that was hard for us."

"If we capitalize on the power play, the game probably takes a different shape," Nugent-Hopkins added.

THIRD PERIOD

The Kings extended their lead to 3-0 with 12:54 to go in regulation as Byfield buried a rebound after a point shot by Vladislav Gavrikov found its way through traffic and struck Skinner's pad.

Another four-on-four scenario occurred with 6:32 remaining after Mattias Janmark and Matt Roy took coincidental minors on a skirmish in front of the net, and the Oilers were able to get a fresh foursome of McDavid, Draisaitl, Bouchard and Ekholm out on the ice. Rittich thwarted their efforts once again, though.

Facing the three-goal deficit, the Oilers pulled Skinner in favour of an extra attacker with just under five minutes on the clock. Byfield was able to bury his second of the game into the empty net with 2:42 left to wrap up a tough night at the rink for the Blue & Orange.

"I don't think it was a lack of effort or anything like that," Hyman said. "We've won in this building before. We've won against this team before. We know what it takes. They're a good team over there too and they played better than us today."

The Oilers are back at home Tuesday to host the Detroit Red Wings before another three-game road trip against the St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars and Arizona Coyotes.