Adrian Kempe scores twice as Kings take 2-0 series lead over Edmonton

Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke reacts after scoring in the first period of Game 2. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The Kings and Edmonton Oilers are old postseason foes, with this year’s first-round matchup marking their 11th meeting in the Stanley Cup playoffs. But with Wednesday’s 6-2 win in Game 2 of the best-of-seven series, the Kings have done something they’ve never accomplished previously.

They’ve taken a 2-0 lead.

The Kings, who have yet to trail in the series, got two goals from Adrian Kempe and single scores from Brandt Clarke, Quinton Byfield, Andrei Kuzmenko and Anze Kopitar, with Clarke, Kuzmenko and Kopitar all scoring on the power play.

Leon Draisaitl and former King Viktor Arvidsson got the goals for Edmonton, which has been outscored 12-7 in the two games.

The win was the Kings’ NHL-best 33rd at home in 2024-25, but now they’ll go on the road, where they had a losing record during the regular season. Edmonton will play host to Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 on Sunday. Game 5, if necessary, will be played at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday.

After winning a Game 1 shootout in which the teams combined for 11 goals — seven in the final 20 minutes and six seconds — the Kings went in front to stay in Game 2 on Clarke’s first career playoff goal 8:44 into the first period. And they got some help from an unexpected source on that one.

Winger Evander Kane, who was making his season debut for the Oilers, was on the ice just 95 seconds before drawing a cross-checking penalty, giving the Kings the man advantage. And Clarke made the Oilers pay, deflecting in a pass from former Oiler Warren Foegele for the power-play goal.

Anze Kopitar scores past Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner in the third period of Game 2. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Byfield then doubled the margin shortly after the first intermission before Kuzmenko made it 3-0 with another power-play goal midway through the second period.

The Kings have scored five times with the man advantage in the two games while holding Edmonton’s power play scoreless in five tries. In last year’s playoff loss to the Oilers, the Kings were 0 for 12 on the power play and killed just 11 of 20 Edmonton power plays.

Draisaitl got Edmonton on the board, scoring on a deflection at 13:54 of the second. It was the second goal of the series for Draisaitl, who led the league with 52 in an injury-shortened regular season.

Draisaitl’s second-period goal in Game 1 helped the Oilers rally from a 4-0 deficit, only to lose 6-5. His Game 2 goal started another rally that saw Arvidsson’s tip-in four minutes into the third period make it a one-goal game.

Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper stops the puck in the third period of Game 2. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

But the comeback stalled there with Kempe and Kopitar answering with goals less than three minutes apart to restore order. After Kopitar’s power-play goal the Oilers pulled goaltender Stuart Skinner and replaced him with Calvin Pickard, who gave up a goal to Kempe on the first shot he faced.

Kempe had two assists to go with his two goals while Kopitar had three assists.

The Kings and Oilers, who are meeting in the first round of the playoffs for a fourth straight season, split the opening two games each of the last three years before Edmonton went on to win the series. The last time a team won the first two games of an Oilers-Kings series was in 1990, when Edmonton won four straight.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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Adrian Kempe scores twice as Kings take 2-0 series lead over Edmonton

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