Oilers fake a comeback as penalties & shoddy goaltending foil Connor McDavid's four-point night in 11-goal thriller vs Kings

The Edmonton Oilers opened their 2025 playoff campaign with a wild, 11-goal thriller against the LA Kings at Crypto.com Arena on Monday. However, early mistakes and a lack of cohesion proved costly for them, resulting in a 6-5 defeat in Game 1.

Despite Connor McDavid's four-point performance, the Oilers couldn't overcome penalties, shaky goaltending, and defensive lapses, dropping the first game and trailing 1-0 in their Western Conference first-round series against the Kings.

For the first two periods, the Kings planted a tight defensive system, which helped them to stifle the Oilers' attack. The Kings' quick stick and smart positioning disrupted the Oilers' entries, limiting clean scoring chances.

Penalties didn't help, as the Kings scored twice while on the man advantage, including the first goal by Andrei Kuzmenko, following Brett Kulak's two-minute minor penalty for stick holding against Jeff Malott.

Two interferences in the second period gave the Kings power-play chances, and the Kings converted. The Kings were up 4-0 with less than three minutes remaining in the period. Leon Draisaitl scored to cut the deficit to 4-1 before heading into the final period.

The Edmonton Oilers found their footing in the third period. McDavid led the charge after finishing with two goals and as many assists. Meanwhile, Draisaitl and Zach Hyman chipped in, and the Oilers were within reach of pulling off a remarkable comeback.

McDavid tied the game 5-5 at 18:32 of the third period. However, a late penalty halted the comeback for the Oilers, with the Kings securing the win thanks to an empty net strike by Phillip Danault with less than a minute remaining in the game.

Stuart Skinner and Evan Bouchard had a tough outing in Game 1 for the Edmonton Oilers

Goaltender Stuart Skinner struggled, letting in goals he'd typically stop. He finished the night with 24 saves, posting an .800 save percentage.

Defenseman Evan Bouchard also had a tough night. Two turnovers directly led to the Kings' goal—one a neutral zone giveaway and the other a sloppy pass in his own end that the Kings capitalized on.

The performance put up by the Edmonton Oilers in the third period was an indication that they have all the tools to turn the series around. Game 2 returns to Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday, with the puck drops scheduled for 10 p.m. ET.