Evander Kane wanted to honor his sick uncle on the ice on Friday.
The Oilers’ wing strengthened with a hat-trick that drove Edmonton to a one-sided 8-2 victory over the LA Kings in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series.
The family was key to Kane during the stormy season and he wanted to have a big game for his uncle Leonard Kane, who is in hospital.
“The beginning of the year was very difficult with many different things happening in my life. “It’s a real credit to my family to help me with everything,” he said. “There have been many trials and tribulations, and it’s good to turn the page and start moving forward in a positive way.”
Kane was not the only Euler to show a great performance on Friday.
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Zack Hyman and Ryan Newgent-Hopkins scored two goals and an assist, while Leon Dreisytle scored one for Edmonton as he led 2-1 in the best of seven.
Cody Sessie had three assists, while Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard had two each.
Mike Smith made 44 saves to collect his 13th playoff victory of his career.
“The most important thing is that we found a way to win,” said head coach Jay Woodcroft. “I thought there were a lot of things we liked about our game. The contributions up and down in the squad, great goalkeepers, special teams were good again. Tonight was a good match for us again. “
The Kings responded with a goal and an assist by Ange Kopitar and a goal by Philip Dano.
Edmonton chased LA goalkeeper Jonathan Quick in the middle of the second period after conceding four goals in 19 shots. Cal Petersen stopped 16 out of 20 with relief.
LA head coach Todd McLellan was brief in his description of what went wrong, meeting with the media just 26 seconds after the game.
“We can do this very quickly tonight. “I can sum it up for you, we can all go home,” he said. “We were not good, we are really disappointed, we were trapped while playing their game. You can ask me about individuals, I will give you the same answer for all of them – they were not good and we have to regroup tomorrow. ”
The series continues with Game 4 in LA on Sunday before returning to Edmonton for Game 5 on Tuesday.
Kane finished the fifth hat-trick of his career – and his first in the playoffs – with just 19.7 seconds to go, sending his wrist past Petersen to make it 8-2.
Nugent-Hopkins scored two goals with a difference of 81 seconds at the end of the third period.
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His first came 14:19 in the frame when he took a puck from Hyman and made a quick hit past Petersen from the hashtags, breaking his wand in the process.
He tipped in the second half of the evening at 3:40 p.m.
The Kings finally scored their first goal of the series with a power play of 17:29 in the second after Derek Ryan was called in to intervene with Blake Lizott.
Seconds after the men’s lead, Kempe fired at Smith. The goalkeeper stopped the initial blast, but Danault was there to collect the rebound and throw it into Edmonton’s net to make it 5-2.
LA’s strong play was difficult during the series, with 1 to 12 in three games and 1 to 4 on Friday.
The Oilers were 1 to 3 with a male advantage in Game 3 and improved to 5 for 11 in the series.
Edmonton’s special teams have begun to return to the same high form they showed at the start of the season, said captain Connor McDavid.
“We got out of this in the middle of the season and our five-on-five game became really stable and the special teams dropped out,” he said. “We need all kinds – a powerful game, a penalty, five on five, it takes everything. So I decided that our penalty had done a great job.
LA boarded at 10:07 a.m. when Kopitar made his way past Draisaitl low and hit a backhand past Smith, reducing LA’s deficit to 5-1.
The goal was Smith’s first in 95 minutes and 21 seconds of play.
Edmonton rose 5-0 just 16 seconds earlier when Sessie fired a long bomb from the inside of the blue line and Kane hit a rebound from the top of the fold for his fourth playoff goal.
Hyman scored his second for the evening 7:42 in the second, beating Andreas Atanasiou with a puck on the boards and driving to the net before sending a hit from the hash marks.
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LA pulled Quick after a goal and Petersen took the Kings’ net.
Sessie scored his first assist of the night at 6:27 a.m. in the second, grabbing a Blue Kings pass and sending it to the front of the net, where Kane struck around Quick’s outstretched leg to give Edmonton a 3 -0 cushion.
The Kings beat the Oilers 19-7 in the first, but Edmonton made the most of his chances.
Hyman increased the lead to 2-0 by only 6:07 in the opening frame, deflecting McDavid’s shot from the inside of the lifting circle in a powerful game. The goal was his first of the playoffs.
The Oilers opened the scoring 3:50 in a four-on-four hockey game after Brendan Lemyo of LA and Brett Kulak of Edmonton were called up for a rough game.
Draisaitl and McDavid used the open ice to break away for a two-on-one match with McDavid carrying the puck. He cut it through the slot next to Draisaitl, who shot behind Quick for his third playoff goal.
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Edmonton beat LA 6-0 in Game 2 on Wednesday, but McDavid said he was most proud of how his team had found ways to win games.
“That’s all that matters at this time of year,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter what it looks like or what happens. I think we did a good job, playing well, playing hard, being physical. They repulsed today and I decided we responded well. “
NOTES: Los Angeles right winger Carl Grundstrom was injured. He was replaced by Gabe Wildardi, who became the ninth Kings player to make his playoff debut in the series … The Kings played their first home playoff game since 2018, when they were swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in a series of the first circle.
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