McDavid, Oilers pad lead for second in Pacific with win against Kings

LOS ANGELES -- Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist, and the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.

McDavid gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead at 3:17 of the first period on a wrist shot from the bottom of the left circle to set a new career high in goals (42), and assisted on Evan Bouchard's slap shot that made it 3-1 at 4:01 of the third period.
"I think he's earned the reputation that he has for a reason because he rises to big moment occasions," Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. "And as I said, he's driving our team right now with these 200-foot plays."

The Oilers captain has scored 29 points (13 goals, 16 assists) during a 15-game point streak, becoming the seventh player in NHL history to have multiple point streaks of at least 15 games in a single NHL season after starting the season with at least one point in 17 straight games.
"Those numbers don't happen every day," Woodcroft said. "He's driving us forward, sure, with his offense, but he's also driving it with his attention to detail on the defensive side of things, and when your captain does that, and when the leading scorer in the National Hockey League commits to playing like that, I think it resonates with the rest of the group and becomes a contagious type attitude."
Bouchard had a goal and two assists, and Mike Smith made 31 saves for Edmonton (42-25-5), which won its sixth straight and extended its lead on the Kings for second in the Pacific Division to three points.
"It's not on what other teams in the Western Conference did," Woodcroft said. "It's on the day's business, and I'm confident that if we put the necessary work in and we have the right focus that results in home-ice advantage, all that kind of stuff takes care of itself."
Trevor Moore scored his NHL-leading fifth shorthanded goal, and Jonathan Quick made 27 saves for Los Angeles (38-25-10), which has two wins in its past six games (2-3-1).
"Had some really good performances, had some average performances," Kings coach Todd McLellan said. "When you describe an individual as just OK, that probably cuts it in November, December, certainly not in April. And we're a little bit short tonight with just OK players. They weren't horrible, but they weren't quite good enough in certain situations."

Viktor Arvidsson made it 3-2 at 7:00 of the third period, scoring from the top of the left circle. He reached the 20-goal mark for the fourth time in eight NHL seasons with the Nashville Predators and Kings.
Warren Foegele made it 2-1 at 15:26 of the second period, finishing off a 2-on-1 rush from Derek Ryan.
Moore tied it 1-1 at 2:29 of the second, scoring five-hole with a backhand shot to become the first Kings player with five shorthanded goals since Tyler Toffoli in 2014-15.
"He's skilled," Arvidsson said of Moore. "He can move the puck in tight, and he moves his feet, and creates and attacks. He finds spaces where the defense have a hard time getting him, so he's a great player and fun to play with."
NOTES:McDavid joins Wayne Gretzky (seven seasons), Mike Bossy, Marcel Dionne, Guy Lafleur, Denis Savard and Bobby Orr as the seventh player in NHL history to have multiple point streaks of at least 15 games in a single NHL season. He has 40 multipoint games, the most since Jaromir Jagr (45) and Mario Lemieux (43) in 1995-96, and has scored in a career-best six straight games (seven goals), the longest by an Oiler since Jimmy Carson in 1988-89 (seven games). McDavid's previous career high in goals was 41, set in 2017-18 and 2018-19. … Bouchard set a career-high with three points. He has scored two points in nine games, eight this season. … Smith is 6-0-1 in his past seven starts. … Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl had three shots on goal and one blocked shot in 19:47 of ice time after missing one game with a lower-body injury. … Kings defenseman Matt Roy had one shot on goal and four hits in 19:24 of ice time after missing 12 games with a lower-body injury. … Kings forward Brendan Lemieux played 5:54 after missing 16 games with a lower-body injury.