FINAL – Kings 0, Oilers 2 – Iafallo, Edler, Roy, McLellan

The LA Kings came up on the short end of a competitive game in Edmonton, falling by a 2-0 final at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta.

Goaltender Joonas Korpisalo made 35 saves on 37 shots in defeat, his highest save total as a member of the Kings organization.

After a first period that saw both teams suppress scoring opportunities, Edmonton broke the deadlock with less than a minute to play, taking a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. Off the rush, Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl sent a spinning pass through the slot to Evander Kane, who moved in from the right wing and one-timed the puck past Korpisalo for the game’s first goal.

The second period saw a combined 30 shots on goal between the two teams, but neither was able to find the back of the net.

With the Kings on the power play early in the third period, Oilers forward Connor McDavid made it 2-0 with a shorthanded goal. After an interception in his own zone, McDavid beat a pair of Kings at the blueline, went the length of the ice on a breakaway and snapped his shot past Korpisalo for his 300th career NHL goal.

The Kings had 19 shots on goal in the third period, as they scrapped to get on the board, but they were unable to crack Edmonton netminder Stuart Skinner. Forward Viktor Arvidsson had a team-high five shots on net during the third.

Hear from forward Alex Iafallo, defenseman Matt Roy and Head Coach Todd McLellan, following tonight’s game.

Alex Iafallo

Iafallo checks in with @CarrlynBathe after the 2-0 loss in Edmonton👇#GoKingsGo | @LAKings pic.twitter.com/cDyjnnbUWV

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) March 31, 2023

Alex Edler
On the battle and competitive nature in tonight’s game
Yeah, it was a tight game. I thought both goalies played really well.

On the adjustments you have to make when you go down to five defensemen
You just have to keep it simple and keep your shifts short.

On pushing through the injuries the Kings have right now
It’s never good when you have guys injured, when you have played like that injured, but it’s part of it. That’s how it happens sometimes and we still have a lot of players to go in. That’s what we’ve got to do.

Matt Roy
On his takeaways after a hard-fought game
It felt like a playoff game out there. I think both teams kind of approached it the same way, it was a hard-fought game. I think we had a lot of chances, we need to bear down on a few of them and hopefully it will be a different game.

On if he felt the group as a whole got the looks they wanted throughout the game
Yeah, I think maybe a little slow start, they came out with some energy and I think we weathered the storm. I thought the second and third were pretty good and we just couldn’t cash in with a goal.

On if you have to make any adjustments when down to five defensemen
I think you’ve just got to focus on the details a little more. I think you need to focus on your shift length, just maybe not pushing things harder than you would normally. You don’t start jumping up too much, offensively, you kind of have to pick your spots. Other than that, you need to just go out there and play like any other game.

On the team’s overall play at the defensive end of the rink
I thought we played, as a team, pretty well. Everyone was playing their positions well and we didn’t give them too much, I don’t think. Hopefully next week, it’ll be a different result.

Todd McLellan
On his general takeaways from the 60 minutes tonight
It was a hell of a game. Both teams played really hard, it came down to a bounce or a break or two and they were able to score. We had some real good looks, ran into a hot goaltender and didn’t quite get over the goalline, but I thought it was a heck of a night.

On how the planning changes when down to five defensemen
Trent Yawney did a really good job of working five defenseman through for 59 minutes and they did a hell of a job. They’re not an easy team to defend against, the forwards helped them out a lot and the goaltender made saves when he needed to. Again, it was a heck of a game and it could have went either wa.

On the play of the five defensemen in Anderson’s absence
Well, it puts a lot of pressure on five defenseman and it takes pairs out of their normal rotation, but I think we’re fine in that situation. You wouldn’t want to get into double or triple overtime in that situation but each of the five handled their minutes really well, they defended well, got off when they could and got fresh guys out.

On playing without injured players at this time of the season
We have some now, we’ll have some a week from now, we’ll have some two months from now. There’s nothing we can do. If there’s one team that’s prepared for that, it’s ours, we went through the whole season last year. So, next guy up, let’s go.

*McLellan shared that he did not have an update on defenseman Mikey Anderson at this time. Anderson left the game early in the first period, following a board from McDavid.

Todd McLellan's thoughts on tonight loss to the Oilers💭#GoKingsGo | @LAKings pic.twitter.com/aUZqBjzQpj

— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) March 31, 2023

Notes –
– Defenseman Drew Doughty led the Kings in time on ice at 30:38 in total, tying a season-high, with his third game of the season over the 30-minute mark.
– Forward Viktor Arvidsson led the Kings with seven shots on goal, while forwards Quinton Byfield and Alex Iafallo each had six.
– Byfield’s six SOG’s and 19:08 in time on ice were both season and career highs.
– Forward Anze Kopitar took 32 faceoffs tonight, his highest total of the 2022-23 season and the ninth-most in a game across the NHL. Kopitar hasn’t taken more faceoffs in a game than 32 since 2018.
– The Kings allowed two or fewer goals during regulation for the 12th time over their last 13 games.
– The Kings were shutout for the fourth time this season.

The Kings are scheduled to practice tomorrow at 1 PM at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.