Connor McDavid marked his 800th NHL game with a goal and three assists Tuesday, driving the Edmonton Oilers to a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena and stretching Edmonton’s streak to five games.
McDavid was involved in each of the Oilers’ three first-period goals and now has points in all six games to open the season, with four goals and 13 assists. Edmonton improved to 5-0-1, completed a sweep of its three-game road trip and stayed unbeaten away from home at 4-0-0.
Vasily Podkolzin supplied two goals, including the empty-netter that finished the night, while Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist. Evan Bouchard added two assists, and Devon Levi turned aside 39 shots for his fourth consecutive victory.
Edmonton jumps on Los Angeles early
The Oilers had the building quieted before the opening period was half over. McDavid set up Draisaitl at the bottom of the left circle at 7:16, and Draisaitl beat Darcy Kuemper from a difficult angle for the game’s first goal.
One minute later, Edmonton’s power play doubled the margin. McDavid carried the puck into the Los Angeles zone with speed and fired from the right circle. Kuemper stopped the initial attempt, but Podkolzin collected the rebound near the left circle and put it away at 8:16.
McDavid then supplied the milestone-game highlight at 15:48. Ty Emberson sent a long pass out of the Edmonton end as the Kings were changing. McDavid knocked the puck down while moving through the neutral zone, slipped behind the defense and finished a backhand breakaway at the right post.
Kuemper allowed three goals on seven shots and did not return after the first intermission. Anton Forsberg took over in the Los Angeles net and made nine saves.
Brandt Clarke finally got the Kings on the board at 17:29 of the second period, sending a long shot through traffic to trim the deficit to 3-1. Los Angeles could not build on it, however, and remained stuck in a five-game skid at 0-3-2. The Kings have scored only one goal in each of their past three games, going 0-2-1 in that stretch.
Podkolzin sealed Edmonton’s win when he scored into the empty net with 2:18 remaining in the third period. The Oilers left Los Angeles with their road swing complete, while the Kings were left looking for their first win of the season.
