McDavid has goal, assist for Oilers in Game 7 shutout win against Kings

EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist for the Edmonton Oilers, who eliminated the Los Angeles Kings with a 2-0 win in Game 7 of the Western Conference First Round at Rogers Place on Saturday.

The Oilers advance to face either the Calgary Flames or Dallas Stars, who will play Game 7 in Calgary on Sunday (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN, TVAS, BSSW).
Mike Smith made 29 saves for Edmonton, the No. 2 seed in the Pacific Division. Jonathan Quick made 39 saves for Los Angeles, the No. 3 seed in the Pacific.
"It feels good to do it in that fashion," McDavid said. "There is always a lot of talk about the defensive side of the game, so for our group to step up in a big moment and play like that in a 2-0 win with 'Smitty' playing great and contributions from everyone, it feels good."

The Oilers were down 3-2 in the best-of-7 series and won 4-2 in Game 6 in Los Angeles on Thursday to force Game 7.
"Right now, it's very frustrating, obviously," Kings captain Anze Kopitar said. "This series was hard-fought, and we gave it all and we should be proud of that. There is certainly an element of growth within the group throughout the season and throughout the [Stanley Cup] Playoffs. It didn't go for us today and it's extremely frustrating because we came in here believing we can get it done, and we didn't."
Cody Ceci gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead at 13:15 of the second period. He took a pass from McDavid at the right face-off circle and shot it over Quick's shoulder. The goal was Ceci's first of the playoffs.
"I've been getting a lot of opportunities playing with these guys and I find myself getting more chances and more opportunities to chip in offensively," Ceci said. "I am just trying to play with as much confidence as I can and help out as much as I can. We are just trying to go on a run here."

The Oilers outshot the Kings 24-11 in the second period.
"Sometimes it's what the other team is doing, and they played a [heck] of a game," Kings coach Todd McLellan said. "They're figuring some things out over there and I thought we had a great first period. In the second period, we couldn't connect from one player to the next to get it going. We would just about connect, or we couldn't make the second play, and it countered and came back into our end."
Quick stopped Josh Archibald on a breakaway at 1:02 of the third period to keep it a one-goal game. Kailer Yamamoto came close to giving the Oilers a two-goal lead but hit the post at 4:46.
"I think they played a little better, they had more energy and more experience," Kings forward Phillip Danault said. "They played better as a team the last two games. We didn't play bad, but they played a little better. They had a little more power, and they were a little more ready, but we'll learn a lot from this and use it next year."
McDavid made it 2-0 at 16:07 on a delayed penalty when he collected his own rebound on a wrap-around attempt and scored on a backhand.
Smith made 11 saves in the third period for his second shutout of the series and sixth in the NHL playoffs.
"I think for our team that series pushed us in a certain way that made us grow," Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. "We learned a lot about ourselves over these last two weeks and the price that needs to be paid to have success at this time of year. I'm proud of our group and am looking forward to moving on to Round 2, whoever that is against."

NOTES:Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse returned to the lineup after serving a one-game suspension for head-butting Danault in Game 5. He was plus-2, with three shots on goal, four blocked shots and two hits in 20:34. … McDavid led the NHL in scoring in the first round with 14 points, the third-most in the first round in NHL history behind Mario Lemieux (17, 1992) and Wayne Gretzky (15, 1987). McDavid is the fourth player in Oilers history with at least 10 assists in a playoff series. Gretzky did it four times and Paul Coffey and Mark Messier each did it once. … Smith is the second goalie in Oilers history with a Game 7 shutout (Curtis Joseph, 1998 Western Conference Quarterfinals against Colorado Avalanche). … Kings forward Dustin Brown played his final NHL game. The 37-year-old announced prior to the playoffs that he would be retiring. … The Oilers had not hosted a Game 7 since defeating the original Winnipeg Jets 4-1 in the 1990 Campbell Conference Semifinals. They went on to win the Stanley Cup that season.