Skinner’s Shutout Lifts Oilers Past Kings 1-0

The Los Angeles Kings continued their road trip with a stop in Edmonton to play the Oilers on Monday night (Jan. 13) in a huge divisional contest. This game was very sloppy throughout, with an abundance of missed passes which led to a lot of offsides and whistles. This sloppy play can be credited to some stingy defensive play by both teams. At the end of the day, one goal was all it took as the Oilers shut out the Kings 1-0. Here’s your game recap.

Game Recap

The Kings were the better team in the first period, but thanks to Stuart Skinner in the Oilers’ net, this game was scoreless heading into the second period. The Kings’ best chance came on a 2-on-1 with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe, in which Edmonton’s netminder came across and robbed Kempe’s one-timer for an incredible glove save. Los Angeles had a 14-6 shot advantage after one.

On Connor McDavid’s 28th birthday, he opened the scoring for the Oilers with under two minutes remaining in the second period. Leon Draisaitl out-worked the Kings’ defenders and took the puck around the net to find Darnell Nurse in the slot. His one-timer was stopped by goaltender Darcy Kuemper, but the rebound landed on the stick of the birthday boy, and he made no mistake. Therefore, Edmonton took a 1-0 lead into the dressing room.

The goaltending duel continued in the third period as Kuemper stoned Draisaitl with the left pad on a 2-on-1 to keep them within one. However, Los Angeles couldn’t get the equalizer as Edmonton found a way to get the two points in regulation. Skinner stopped all 30 shots he faced, and Kuemper stopped 29 of 30 shots in defeat.

The Kings continue their five-game road trip on Thursday (Jan. 16) against the Vancouver Canucks. Meanwhile, the Oilers start a three-game road trip in Minnesota against the Wild on Wednesday (Jan. 15). These two teams don’t play again until April 5 in Los Angeles for game three of their four-game season series.