Leon Draisaitl scored twice as the host Edmonton Oilers eliminated the Los Angeles Kings with a 4-3 victory on Wednesday in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series.Evander Kane and Zach Hyman also scored and goalie Stuart Skinner made 18 saves for the Oilers, who dispatched the Kings in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third consecutive year.Edmonton's Evan Bouchard collected three assists while Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins both netted two helpers.The Oilers will face either the Vancouver Canucks or Nashville Predators in the Western Conference semifinals. Vancouver leads that best-of-seven series 3-2.Alex Laferriere, Blake Lizotte and Adrian Kempe replied for the Kings. Goalie David Rittich stopped 22 shots and Matt Roy notched two assists.With his team trailing 2-1, Draisaitl netted a power-play goal -- Edmonton's ninth of the series -- to tie the score 2-2 at 7:44 of the second period. Rittich appeared to make a diving glove save, but a review showed his glove ended up going behind the line when he caught the puck.Draisaitl produced his second of the night and fifth of the series at 12:21 of the middle period. His quick shot from the bottom of the right circle seconds after a power play expired gave Edmonton the lead for good.Hyman made it 4-2 with another goal right after an expired Kings penalty, his seventh of the playoffs. Bouchard's point shot deflected off a couple of players, the last one being Hyman before going into the net with 52.9 seconds remaining in the middle frame.

The Los Angeles Kings are essentially trying to match their latest performance when they hit the road for Wednesday's do-or-die meeting with the host Edmonton Oilers.However, they will be seeking a different result as they attempt to stay alive in a Western Conference first-round playoff series.Los Angeles trails 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, but it may have at least found a template for success during Sunday's 1-0 setback.The Kings were the better team in many ways. They surrendered only 13 shots on goal -- holding Connor McDavid to just one and Leon Draisaitl to two -- while firing 33 on the other net. In addition, Los Angeles often had momentum, limited turnovers and showed an effective forecheck.The lone blemish? Evan Bouchard's power-play goal in the second period."It's the kind of game you have to replicate every single game," Kings forward Phillip Danault said. "That's the only way you can win against Edmonton right now. We have to play the same exact way."But it's not all good vibrations for Los Angeles, which has scored only one goal in the past two games and is on the verge of being eliminated by the Oilers for the third consecutive year. Still, the Kings have some reasons to believe a comeback is possible."We played as well as we did in a long, long time," Los Angeles interim coach Jim Hiller said. "What do we do, we just go and play that game again. ... We've got a game that can beat them going back into Edmonton."The Oilers, with the opportunity to reach the second round of the playoffs for the third consecutive season, return to Edmonton with a chance to clinch the series on home ice.However, they are well aware that a performance similar to Sunday's likely won't be enough to get them past the Kings once again.

Stuart Skinner made 33 saves for the visiting Edmonton Oilers in a 1-0 win against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series on Sunday night.Edmonton has a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series heading into Game 5 on Wednesday night in Edmonton. The Oilers will try to eliminate the Kings in the first round for the third straight season.Evan Bouchard scored a power-play goal and Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl earned the assists for Edmonton. McDavid has 10 points in the series (one goal, nine assists) and Draisaitl has eight points (three goals, five assists).Los Angeles interim coach Jim Hiller elected to start David Rittich in goal for the first time in the series after Cam Talbot posted a 5.30 goals-against average and .861 save percentage through the first three games.Rittich finished with 12 saves in his first playoff start in nearly two years and just the second of his eight-year NHL career.Edmonton, which was limited to four shots on goal in the first period, went on the first power play of the game after Kings defenseman Andreas Englund was called for holding Ryan McLeod at 10:46 of the second period.The Oilers set up their offense in the Los Angeles zone and McDavid weaved through the high slot before sliding a pass from the top of the left circle to Draisaitl in the right circle.

The Los Angeles Kings were in this situation not long ago against the visiting Edmonton Oilers and they'll try to bounce back again when they meet in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series on Sunday night.The Kings trail the best-of-seven series 2-1 against the Oilers after getting lit up 6-1 in Game 3 on Friday night in Los Angeles.They were in the same boat two years ago after three games of their first-round series against the Oilers, losing 8-2 in Game 3 before storming back for a 4-0 victory in Game 4 to even the series and retake home-ice advantage.Los Angeles even won Game 5 in Edmonton to take a 3-2 series lead, but ultimately dropped the final two games and the series.The Kings led their opening-round series against Edmonton after three games last season, but eventually lost that one too."What I know for sure is it's two for them, one for us, and you need to win four in the series," Kings interim coach Jim Hiller said. "We'll have to play better than we did (in Game 3), just like Game 2."Los Angeles bounced back from a 7-4 loss in Game 1 on April 22 to win 5-4 in overtime in Game 2 on Wednesday to even the series heading to Los Angeles.Instead of capitalizing on home-ice advantage, the Kings gave up three straight goals in the first period and were chasing the Oilers the rest of the way."We wanted this one, they wanted it, so you just have to take a look at it as if it's one game," Kings forward Kevin Fiala said. "Now, we just have to come back next game and make it 2-2."The Oilers kept the celebration low-key afterward, knowing they're just one loss away from losing home-ice advantage again."It just counts as one win, that's all," Edmonton center Connor McDavid said. "Got to be ready for a big one Sunday."After scoring six points (three goals, three assists) in his final four games of the regular season, McDavid has maintained his hot streak in the playoffs, totaling nine points (one goal, eight assists) through the first three games.He hasn't been the only one carrying the offense, however.

Zach Hyman, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid scored in the first period and the visiting Edmonton Oilers finished with the three power-play goals in a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in Game 3 of a first-round Western Conference playoff series on Friday.Hyman and Draisaitl each finished with two goals, and Draisaitl also had an assist as the Oilers took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series while rebounding from a 5-4 defeat at home in Game 2.McDavid wound up with three points, Evander Kane contributed a goal and an assist, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins notched three assists and Stuart Skinner made 27 saves for Edmonton.Hyman has scored in all three games and has six goals in the series, including a hat trick in Game 1. McDavid scored his first of the series, the 30th of his playoff career, and he increased his assist total to eight in the series.Edmonton now has seven power-play goals the series.Drew Doughty scored a goal for the Kings, while Cam Talbot made 34 saves. The Kings get a chance to even the series in Game 4 at home on Sunday.

Fresh off a resilient victory that changed the course of their first-round Western Conference playoff series, the Los Angeles Kings return home for Game 3 on Friday against the Edmonton Oilers.The Kings evened the best-of-seven series at a game apiece Wednesday when they took a pair of two-goal leads, weathered an Oilers comeback and won the game 5-4 a mere two minutes into overtime on the most fortunate of goals from Anze Kopitar.If there was anybody that knew hope remained after a 7-4 defeat in the series opener, it was Kings veterans Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. An 18-year Kings stalwart, Kopitar added a pair of assists, both on first-period goals from eight-year mainstay Kempe as Los Angeles dictated the early play."We've talked about that before in the playoffs, there's usually ups and downs within the series, within the game, so you just have to be prepared for that and just kind of go about it the next shift and try to make the most of it," Kopitar said.One of those downs could have been the Oilers' two-goal second period in Game 2 that tied the score 3-3. But the Kings took the lead again on a goal from Kevin Fiala only for Edmonton's Dylan Holloway to send another ominous sign by tying the score again 97 seconds later.Los Angeles' game-winning goal was pure fate after Mikey Anderson sent the puck from the Kings' zone toward the left boards near center ice. Quinton Byfield tipped the puck with his stick, and a fortuitous deflection sent it toward the Oilers' goal and straight into the path of Kopitar, who was on the rush.Kopitar beat Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner with the game-winner just inside the right post."Let's say I was intending to pass it to Kopi," Byfield said with a grin on the Bally Sports broadcast. "No, I was just trying to get a touch on it so it wasn't icing. Kopi, as he always does, was supporting the puck and he was in the right place at the right time and it worked out."

Anze Kopitar scored in overtime to cap a three-point game and give the visiting Los Angeles Kings a 5-4 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.Their best-of-seven Western Conference first-round playoff series is tied 1-1, with Game 3 set for Friday in Los Angeles.Adrian Kempe scored twice while Drew Doughty and Kevin Fiala tallied once apiece for the Kings, who recovered after surrendering leads of 3-1 and 4-3. Goalie Cam Talbot made 27 saves. Quinton Byfield posted two assists, including one on the game-winner.Right after Talbot made a stop, Kopitar was sent on a partial breakaway and whipped a top-corner, glove-side shot at 2:07 of the extra period for his first goal of this year's playoffs.Dylan Holloway scored twice while Brett Kulak and Zach Hyman tallied once each for the Oilers. Leon Draisaitl and Mattias Janmark both posted two assists and goalie Stuart Skinner stopped 21 shots.After dropping the series opener 7-4, the Kings were looking for a quick start and received it when Kempe tallied at the 3:19 mark with the game's first shot, which came from the slot.

The Los Angeles Kings will not even bother trying to fool themselves: The Edmonton Oilers were the superior team en route to claiming a 7-4 victory in the opener of their Western Conference first-round playoff series.With Game 2 coming Wednesday in Edmonton, the Kings expect the biggest difference to be their own performance."It's a seven-game series, and you have to win the first to four. We're down 1-0, but we can easily win and make it 1-1 next game," Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said. "We have to put it behind us and learn from what we did wrong and fix what we did wrong and bring it into the next game. That's not our model. That's not the way we play. It's frustrating. We just have to put that game in the past and get back to doing what we do best."Led by their usual suspects, the Oilers staked a 4-0 lead by the game's midway point. The Kings pulled within two by the second intermission, but a couple of costly penalties led to a pair of Edmonton power-play goals early in the third period and it became a coast to the finish line for an Oilers team that scored three times with the man advantage."It was a couple of borderline (calls)," Kings coach Jim Hiller said. "When you could look at it and say you gave them a chance to make that call. There were two for sure that can't be in our game. ... You can't put yourself in a position where the referee's got to make a judgment call."Aside from surrendering a pair of late goals that made the score appear tighter than it actually was, the Oilers opened their Stanley Cup chase with a textbook performance.Connor McDavid became only the 13th player in NHL history -- Wayne Gretzky did it twice -- to record five assists in a playoff game, and the first since 1998. Zach Hyman collected a hat trick in a four-point performance. Evan Bouchard netted four assists, and both Leon Draisaitl and Adam Henrique collected one goal and one assist.A huge key was taking the early lead and building on it, notably against a Kings team capable of strangling a team upon taking a lead.

Zach Hyman collected his first career playoff hat trick in a four-point game and Connor McDavid posted a playoff-best five assists to lead the host Edmonton Oilers to a 7-4 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series on Monday.Adam Henrique and Leon Draisaitl both netted one goal and one assist, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Warren Foegele also scored and Evan Bouchard notched a career-best four assists for the Oilers, who snapped a seven-game losing skid in series openers. Goaltender Stuart Skinner made 33 saves.Adrian Kempe logged a goal and an assist and Mikey Anderson, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Trevor Moore also scored for the Kings. Goalie Cam Talbot stopped 38 shots.Game 2 of the best-of-seven series will be Wednesday in Edmonton.The Oilers, who eliminated the Kings in the opening round of the playoffs each of the past two seasons, won three of four regular-season meetings and continued that dominance.Hyman, a 54-goal marksman in the regular season, opened the scoring 6:52 into the game, on the spot in the slot when McDavid's pass attempt was blocked.Henrique doubled the lead at 9:36 of the first period when he wired a shot from the faceoff dot for his first playoff goal since June 11, 2012, while a member of the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Final against the Kings. The span of 4,333 days between playoff goals was the longest in NHL history.Hyman's second of the game, a converted shot from the slot seconds after Kings forward Viktor Arvidsson was denied on a breakaway, extended the lead at 4:50 of the second period.Nugent-Hopkins made it a 4-0 game with a power-play goal at 8:24 of the middle frame.

Another trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs and another chance for the Los Angeles Kings to exact revenge against the Edmonton Oilers.As the Kings hit the road to open their Western Conference playoff series with Edmonton on Monday, the third consecutive year the clubs have met in the first round, it is with the reminder of how the Oilers have dispatched them in each of the past two seasons."There's definitely going to be a lot of lessons learned," Los Angeles forward Quinton Byfield said. "We had a younger group coming in a couple of years ago ... and I know a lot of guys in that room have got a lot more playoff experience. We know they're a really good team. They have some star players, so it's going to be a hard series, but hopefully it's our time."Edmonton overcame a horrible start to the season before rocketing up the standings and finishing second in the Pacific Division. The Kings capped a 6-2-0 run to finish the regular season with a 5-4 overtime victory over the Chicago Blackhawks to clinch the third spot in the division.As was the case during the previous two postseason meetings, this series will be a study of Los Angeles and its ability to defend Edmonton's high-octane attack."We can talk about individual players on our side and their side. It's going to take us as a collective, we know that," Kings interim coach Jim Hiller said. "I really like where we are as a collective. We're healthy. I think we're confident and we're excited. I think you're going to see a passionate hockey team."The Oilers won three of four meetings with Los Angeles during the regular season.As much as Edmonton can be lauded for being one of the league's best teams for a lengthy stretch after winning only twice in its first dozen games, the Oilers somewhat limped into the playoffs. They finished the campaign with only one victory in their final five games (1-3-1).

Adrian Kempe scored six seconds into overtime -- tied for the fastest OT goal in NHL history -- to lift the Los Angeles Kings to a 5-4 win against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night in the regular-season finale.Viktor Arvidsson scored two goals, including the game-tying goal during six-on-four play with 1:21 left, and he added an assist for the Kings (44-27-11, 99 points), who leapfrogged the Vegas Golden Knights (45-29-8, 98 points) for third place in the Pacific Division.Kempe, Quinton Byfield and Trevor Moore each had a goal and an assist, Phillip Danault had three assists and Cam Talbot made nine saves for Los Angeles, which will face the Edmonton Oilers in the first round for a third straight season.Tyler Johnson, Joey Anderson and Ryan Donato scored five minutes apart early in the third period to give Chicago a 4-3 lead.Lukas Reichel also scored and Arvid Soderblom made 31 saves for the Blackhawks (23-53-6, 52 points), who ended the second on a six-game losing streak and with the second-fewest points in the NHL.Reichel scored on a partial breakaway to give Chicago a 1-0 lead at 15:39 of the first period.After the Kings outshot the Blackhawks 14-4 in the first period, they outscored Chicago 11-3 in the second.Danault chased down a dump-in behind the Chicago net, circled around and fed Arvidsson for a one-timer from the left circle that squeezed through the pads of Soderblom to tie it 1-1 at 4:37 of the second.The Blackhawks appeared to score short-handed with 7:45 left in the second period when Jason Dickinson put in his own rebound. After a league-requested review, however, it was determined Dickinson scored with a distinct kicking motion.

The Los Angeles Kings don't need a victory against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks in their regular-season finale on Thursday night, but they'd certainly prefer one heading into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.The Kings (43-27-11, 97 points) clinched a playoff berth for the third straight season a week ago and have split their two games since.Los Angeles can still finish third in the Pacific Division if it can beat Chicago and the Vegas Golden Knights lose in any fashion to the visiting Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night.The third-place finisher in the Pacific will face the second-place Edmonton Oilers in the first round. A difficult team to beat, no doubt, but so are the Dallas Stars and Vancouver Canucks, who will play the two wild-card finishers in the Western Conference"I don't think it matters who we play," Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson said. "Anyone that's making the postseason is a really good team. Whoever it is, we need to be ready to play."The Kings weren't happy with their intensity in a 3-1 loss to the visiting Minnesota Wild on Monday. Their effort wasn't much better in a 3-1 win against the Ducks last Saturday."Sometimes, maybe, it's a relief you get in (the playoffs), but at the same time you can't be taking steps back," Anderson said. "We've got to keep building, because you don't get any time after the year to build your game up, you're jumping right into it. So, just making sure we're ready to go. We've got one more try at it before you need to be ready."Los Angeles interim coach Jim Hiller isn't satisfied with how the Kings have played the past few games, but he's not concerned the lack of intensity will leak into the playoffs.He'd like to see his players lock in on Chicago, just to get their minds off who they'll be facing in the first round of the playoffs."We're in a playoff race, that's the way I see it," Hiller said. "That can be the only way you approach it, because you've got to play, you've got to want to win every game and that's what you're doing and then you'll let the chips fall where they may. Different things can happen, who knows, but for us, the focus is on us."

Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and an assist as the Minnesota Wild ended Los Angeles' eight-game home winning streak by beating the Kings 3-1 on Monday night.Matt Boldy and Ryan Hartman also scored, Marco Rossi had two assists and Filip Gustavsson made 23 saves for Minnesota (39-32-10, 88 points), which was outscored by a combined 13-3 in its previous two meetings with Los Angeles this season.Blake Lizotte scored and Cam Talbot had 26 saves and an assist for the Kings (43-27-11, 97 points), who remain one point ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights for third place in the Pacific Division.Los Angeles has one game left, on Thursday against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks, while Vegas has two games to go.The Kings were trying to win nine straight at home for the first time since a their franchise-record, 12-game run at home in 1992-93.Minnesota scored a power-play goal for the seventh straight game to take a 1-0 lead at 14:14 of the first period.Boldy received a lateral pass from Rossi as he crossed the Los Angeles blue line with speed. He cut between defensemen Vladislav Gavrikov and Matt Roy before sliding the puck between Talbot's pads for his 29th goal of the season.After the Wild killed their second penalty of the first period, Alex Goligoski nearly scored coming out of the box.

The Los Angeles Kings and Minnesota Wild have been miles apart for most of the 2023-24 campaign. They'll get together one more time on Monday night in Los Angeles before going their separate ways for good this season.The Kings (43-26-11, 97 points) are headed to the Stanley Cup playoffs for a third straight season, while Minnesota (38-33-9, 85 points) will miss the postseason for just the second time in 12 years.The Wild are using their last few games to take a long look at some of their top prospects.Los Angeles, meanwhile, wants to maintain its winning ways over its final two regular-season games while also being mindful of its veteran players."We want to play well," Kings interim coach Jim Hiller said. "We'll take the wins. We want to win, of course, but we just want to be feeling good. Whether that's winning or playing well and maybe not quite getting it done, just feeling good going into (the playoffs)."Hiller kept veteran forward Anze Kopitar out of the lineup for the first time this season on Saturday night in a 3-1 win against the visiting Anaheim Ducks because of "something nagging." Hiller also indicated Kopitar would have played if it were a postseason game.It's unclear if the 36-year-old captain will face the Wild.Regardless, the Kings want to remain in peak form."If you can go into the playoffs feeling good, I think it just kind of helps your team's mindset and you just kind of feel more ready," Kings defenseman Matt Roy said. "You don't want to go in losing focus or confidence. You want to be ready to go and you want your teammates to be ready to go as well."Los Angeles also has a chance to run its home winning streak to nine games, which would be its longest since a 12-game run in 1992-93.The Kings set an NHL record by winning their first 11 road games this season."We knew we had to dial it in at home because we weren't doing well at all in the beginning," Roy said. "I'm glad we did."

David Rittich made 28 saves for the Los Angeles Kings in a 3-1 win against the visiting Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night.Pierre-Luc Dubois, Matt Roy and Kevin Fiala scored for the Kings (43-26-11, 97 points), who moved three points ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights for third place in the Pacific Division with two games left for Los Angeles and three for Vegas.Los Angeles, which clinched its third straight berth in the postseason with a 4-1 win against the Calgary Flames on Thursday, has won eight straight at home, the longest home-winning streak since Los Angeles won its first eight home games to start the 2010-11 season.Trevor Zegras scored and Lukas Dostal made 25 saves for the Ducks (26-50-5, 57 points), who were coming off a 6-3 loss to the visiting Flames on Friday and have lost 9 of 11 overall (2-7-2).Anaheim rookie defenseman Olen Zellweger was in the penalty box for tripping Quinton Byfield when Dubois scored to give the Kings a 1-0 lead at 2:45 of the second period.Viktor Arvidsson and Adrian Kempe batted the puck around in front of the crease until it came to Dubois at the side of the net, and he swiped it into the net for his 16th goal of the season.

The Los Angeles Kings have assured themselves a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs. How much effort they will put into winning the final three games of the regular season remains to be seen.The Kings continue a four-game homestand to close out the regular season by hosting the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night.Los Angeles (42-26-11, 95 points) remains in a tight battle for third in the Pacific Division with the Vegas Golden Knights, but that place in the standings also likely would come with a first-round matchup against the red-hot Edmonton Oilers.On Saturday, the Kings might want to try to redeem their 3-1 loss to the Ducks on Tuesday in Anaheim, Calif., which delayed them locking up a playoff spot for a third straight season.That moment finally arrived with a 4-1 win against the visiting Calgary Flames on Thursday, eliciting a big sigh of relief and earning the players a day off on Friday."That was our goal when we started training camp, so one step at a time," Kings forward Viktor Arvidsson said after scoring two goals against Calgary. "We did a good job in the regular season to get to this point."Kings interim coach Jim Hiller said reaching the postseason has been a teamwide effort, beginning when they opened the season in Australia and through a turbulent midseason stretch that cost coach Todd McLellan his job."Everybody who has been involved has been a part of the team reaching the playoffs," Hiller said. "I think everybody should be proud of that; it's a hard thing to do. More importantly, it's an exciting thing to do because now you get to take the next step. We've earned the right to take the next step."The Ducks (26-49-5, 57 points) are coming off a 6-3 loss to the visiting Flames on Friday.

Viktor Arvidsson scored two goals and the Los Angeles Kings clinched a playoff berth for the third straight season with a 4-1 win against the visiting Calgary Flames on Thursday night.Kevin Fiala and Akil Thomas also scored, Anze Kopitar had two assists and Cam Talbot made 23 saves for the Kings (42-26-11, 95 points), who won their fourth game in the past five to take a three-point lead over the Vegas Golden Knights for third place in the Pacific Division.Los Angeles has three games remaining, and Vegas has four left.Jonathan Huberdeau scored and Jacob Markstrom made 26 saves for the Flames (35-38-5, 75 points), who have lost nine of their past 11 games.The Kings went on the game's first power play after Daniil Miromanov was penalized for closing his glove on the puck, and Fiala scored his 28th goal of the season shortly afterward to give Los Angeles a 1-0 lead at 6:48 of the first period.Fiala received a pass from Kopitar above the right circle with Arvidsson providing a screen. Markstrom looked to one side of Arvidsson as Fiala shot the puck past him on the other side.The Kings scored 54 seconds into the second period to extend their lead to 2-0.Trevor Moore and Phillip Danault cycled the puck in the Calgary zone before it went to Arvidsson along the wall. He skated into the right circle, then beat Markstrom with a wrist shot for his third goal in 15 games this season.

Before the Los Angeles Kings can focus on winning their first Stanley Cup playoff series in 10 years, they need to reserve a spot in the postseason.The Kings can check that off the list with a win against the visiting Calgary Flames on Thursday night.Los Angeles (41-26-11, 93 points) missed its first opportunity to clinch a third straight playoff berth on Tuesday night, losing 3-1 to the Anaheim Ducks, a team it had defeated eight straight times."Clinching a playoff spot is always difficult, especially if it comes down to the last four or five games of the year," Kings forward Blake Lizotte said.Los Angeles veteran forward Trevor Lewis, one of three current Kings who were on the 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup championship teams, said he and his teammates weren't feeling additional pressure to clinch against the Ducks."Everyone knows where we're at," he said. "We're trying to prepare like we're going into playoffs here. When you get into the playoffs, you can't just flip a switch. We got to make sure we got our details down. Play every game really hard."Los Angeles interim coach Jim Hiller concurred."You get together months ago to try to get to this point," Hiller said. "This is a veteran team, so I wouldn't put any weight in that. I would put weight in the way we started the game (against Anaheim), and then we thought it might be easy and it is never easy in the National (Hockey) League."Hiller said the Kings didn't do a good enough job of getting the puck deep against the Ducks."When we did, we had success," Hiller said. "When we didn't, they scored two goals and also pushed us back, so that's a pretty easy fix, it's just understanding and having the will to do it over and over again."The Flames (35-37-5, 75 points) were eliminated from the playoffs last Thursday following a 5-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.It was a disappointing follow-up to last season, when Calgary finished just two points behind the Jets for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Lukas Dostal made 36 saves and Ryan Strome had two assists as the Anaheim Ducks recorded a 3-1 win over the visiting Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.The Ducks ended a two-game winless streak (0-1-1) and won for just the third time in their past 17 games (3-12-2).Frank Vatrano, Alex Killorn, and Trevor Zegras scored three unanswered goals for the Ducks (26-48-5, 57 points) after Akil Thomas gave the Kings a first-period lead.Dostal improved his season record to 13-22-3.Cam Talbot stopped 24 of 27 shots for the Kings, whose three-game winning streak ended.Los Angeles (41-26-11, 93 points) would have officially clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs with a win. The Kings are a point ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights for third place in the Pacific Division, and Vegas is five points up on the St. Louis Blues for the final Western Conference wild-card berth.Anaheim was 0-7-1 in its previous eight games with Los Angeles, dating back to the 2021-22 season. It was tied for the third-longest winless streak against a single opponent in Ducks franchise history.

The Los Angeles Kings look to continue their roll toward the playoffs when they visit the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.In what has been an up-and-down season in Los Angeles, the Kings (41-25-11, 93 points) seem to once again be hitting their stride as the postseason approaches. Los Angeles is on a three-game winning streak, including a 6-3 statement win over the Pacific Division-leading Vancouver Canucks on Saturday."We're excited. I think we're also kind of paying attention to the standings," said Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, who had a goal and an assist against Vancouver. "We just want to move up as high as we possibly can. We don't care who we face. We're just worrying about ourselves."The Kings are battling the Vegas Golden Knights for third place in the Pacific Division, with a Western Conference wild-card berth as a potential backup plan for whichever team finishes fourth. Los Angeles is six points ahead of the St. Louis Blues, the first team in the West out of a wild-card spot.Anaheim (25-48-5, 55 points) couldn't play spoiler to the Blues' chances on Sunday, though the Ducks at least took the game beyond regulation in a 6-5 shootout loss. The Ducks trailed 5-3 with 12 minutes remaining in the third period before Frank Vatrano and Leo Carlsson scored to force overtime."I liked how we came back," Vatrano said. "I liked the way we responded and played that game. ... (The defensemen) were connected to the forwards, forwards were connected to the D. When we're playing like that, it's fun."The Ducks have the third-fewest points in the NHL and are 2-12-2 in their past 16 games.Vatrano leads Anaheim with 55 points (32 goals, 23 assists) this season.Adrian Kempe leads Los Angeles with 71 points (27 goals, 44 assists). Kempe has eight points (five goals, three assists) during an ongoing five-game point streak.