04/29/24 12:20:00
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04/29 00:19 CDT Stuart Skinner gets 1st postseason shutout as Oilers beat Kings
1-0 to take a 3-1 series lead
Stuart Skinner gets 1st postseason shutout as Oilers beat Kings 1-0 to take a
3-1 series lead
By JOE REEDY
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --- Stuart Skinner stopped 33 shots for his first postseason
shutout, Evan Bouchard scored on the power play midway through the second
period and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings 1-0 in Game 4 on
Sunday to move a win away from advancing.
Skinner is the eighth goalie in franchise history to record a postseason
shutout and the first since Mike Smith had two in the first round against the
Kings two years ago. The most recent was in Game 7 of the 2022 first-round
series when Smith made 29 saves in a 2-0 victory.
It was Skinner's 16th postseason start. It is the fifth shutout of his career
after he had two during the regular season.
Edmonton has a 3-1 lead in the first-round series. Game 5 is Wednesday night in
Edmonton. The Kings have dropped four straight playoff series since winning the
Stanley Cup in 2014.
David Rittich got the start in goal for the Kings after Cam Talbot had a 5.31
goals-against average and .891 save percentage in the first three games.
Rittich made 12 saves and Los Angeles had a 33-13 advantage in shots on goal as
the Kings were aggressive on the forecheck, but the difference in the game
again was special teams.
The Oilers scored on their lone power-play opportunity and are 8 of 15 in the
series. Los Angeles is the only team in the postseason that hasn't scored on
the power play.
They were 0 for 1 on Sunday and 0 for 11 in the series. Trevor Moore had a shot
just go wide when the Kings had the man advantage in the third period.
Matt Roy also had a prime scoring opportunity when the teams were at even
strength in the second period, but couldn't get it into the net.
The game's first penalty wasn't called until 10:46 into the second, when Los
Angeles' Andreas Englund was sent off for holding. Edmonton converted on the
power play 63 seconds later when Bouchard blasted a one-timer from the point
after getting the pass from McDavid.
It was McDavid's ninth assist and 10th point of the series. That made the
Oilers' superstar center the eighth player in NHL history to have at least five
10-point postseason series in their career. Three have come against Los Angeles.
The Kings pulled Rittich for the extra skater with 1:34 remaining, but were
unable to get a great opportunity.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and
https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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