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EDMONTON, AB – Happy birthday, Captain Connor.

Goaltender Stuart Skinner made 30 saves for his sixth career shutout, and captain Connor McDavid scored the decisive and only goal of the contest on his 28th birthday at Rogers Place to win the Edmonton Oilers two massive points in the Pacific Division standings with a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.

"It's always that way against LA," McDavid said. "It's always that kind of low-scoring, low-event hockey. We know how to play these games with them. I thought we maybe beat them at their own game today just playing patient and finding a way to get one and holding on for a win."

Forward Leon Draisaitl gifted McDavid the winner with 1:23 remaining in the middle frame thanks to an impressive solo effort from the German, winning the puck off Kings winger Trevor Moore and getting the puck to Darnell Nurse to create the rebound that resulted in the captain scoring the decisive tally with his 17th goal of the season.

Skinner's first-star performance began with an incredible save on Kings' leading goalscorer Adrian Kempe in the first period en route to winning his ninth consecutive game following a defeat – a 9-0-0 record in those contests that now includes two shutouts after he allowed five goals on 26 shots against the Penguins during Edmonton's previous road trip.

"It comes from a lot of things," Skinner said of his bounce back. "It comes from how the team plays after games like that as well, but I think for myself personally, I've gone through a lot of experiences that have helped me become more resilient. As the games go on and after games like that, you always want to come back and really bring it and show the guys that you can bounce back. I think that's an extremely important thing for a goalie to be able to do."

After coming back to Rogers Place for one game, the Oilers will hit the road again this week for a three-game road trip that will begin on Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center against the Minnesota Wild in the first of back-to-back games.

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      McDavid scores on his birthday & Skinner stops all 30 in a 1-0 win

      FIRST PERIOD

      Goaltender Stuart Skinner made more than a handful of saves in the first period after the visitors outshot the Oilers 14-6 in the opening frame, with none bigger than his monstrous save on Adrian Kempe just before the five-minute mark that took away a sure-fire goal for Los Angeles' leading goalscorer.

      The Edmonton-born netminder came up with the biggest of his eight stops in the opening eight minutes of the contest by miraculously getting his glove to the set-up on an odd-man rush by Anze Kopitar, lashing across with the glove to deflect Kempe's release onto the top of Edmonton's net as the "Stuuuuuuuus!" rained down on him from the crowd at Rogers Place.

      "Yeah, it was a good save," Skinner said. "I think Kuley played it really well in front of me. It was an amazing pass by Kopitar, and then Kempe obviously got a good shot off and I just went into a spread and did everything that I could. It was kind of an out-of-the-box save and I got enough of it to go above the net. Thank goodness. I think it was a really good save, and that's what we needed."

      Skinner was searching for his ninth consecutive victory in games following defeats this season, with his first-period performance including one extra save and four fewer goals allowed than his opening frame during his last start against Pittsburgh on Jan. 9 in the Steel City.

      "He's been playing great and was really good early on," McDavid said of Skinner. "That save on the two-on-one really got us going. It helped a lot. It's a team that you want to play out front of. When they get you and they have a lead on you, they can make it pretty tough. So a huge save and he was solid all night."

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          Skinner deflects away Kempe's shot with a miraculous save

          Just over a minute later, a miscue by Brett Kulak behind the net after Skinner played him the puck resulted in the Stony Plain product tripping up former Oilers winger Warren Foegele to set up the game's first power play.

          Defenceman Ty Emberson prevented a goal on the penalty kill by pulling the puck out of the crease, stopping the puck from crossing the line when it was looking like it'd trickle through to give the Kings the lead.

          Leon Draisaitl had a one-timer blocked by defenceman Jacob Moverare before the Oilers earned their first power play when Brandt Clarke was called for slashing Adam Henrique on a partial break, but the Oilers couldn't cash in to prevent a stalemate before the intermission in Monday's Pacific Division battle.

          "We didn't really have our legs. I thought they were better than us in the first period," Draisaitl said. "But those games seem to happen sometimes when you're coming off a long road trip, so I thought we found our legs and obviously hung on at the end and did a good job defending."

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              Stuart speaks to the media following Monday's 30-save shutout

              SECOND PERIOD

              Who other than Leon Draisaitl to deliver the cake on Connor McDavid's birthday?

              After it was looking like the Oilers and Kings would play themselves to another scoreless frame, an incredible pursuit by Draisaitl to win a puck race against forward Trevor Moore during four-on-four started the celebrations for McDavid on his 28th birthday in the final two minutes of the period, resulting in the captain scoring his 17th goal of the season to lift the Blue & Orange a 1-0 lead before the intermission.

              "The puck just hopped over a stick and I had my momentum going that way, so I thought I could win that race or get inside position on him," Draisaitl said.

              Draisaitl outraced Moore with his heavy skating through the neutral zone and imposed his big frame upon the Kings' winger to win the puck along the boards, taking the puck behind the net before finding Darnell Nurse coming into the slot for a wide-open chance.

              "I just took a chance," he added.

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                  McDavid scores on his 28th birthday to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead

                  Netminder Darcy Kuemper kicked aside the blueliner's attempt with the left pad, but waiting at the bottom of the right circle – a spot normally occupied by Draisaitl – was the other half of the Dynamic Duo, who calmly one-timed home a rotating puck to give his side the advantage on his cake day.

                  "A lot of it's just instinct," McDavid said of playing four-on-four with Draisaitl. "A lot of it's just playing together for so long. It was a great battle, a great skate, a great battle off the ice and he makes a great play to Nursey."

                  Including three consecutive meetings in the First Round with Los Angeles, Draisaitl has now recorded a point in 18 of his last 19 games against the Kings, totalling 33 points (15G, 18A). The German now has 31 goals and 33 assists in 43 games to sit second in NHL scoring behind Nathan MacKinnon (68).

                  "He's got two 50-goal seasons, right? And doesn't he have a Hart too?" Zach Hyman said. "I don't know how much more you can do than be considered one of the best in the world. I think this year isn't a statement year or anything – it's just who he is and he's one of the best in the world."

                  Only two players in NHL history (Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux) recorded more than McDavid's 1,040 career points before their 28th birthday, and McDavid became the fourth active player in the NHL to register a point on his birthday in three consecutive seasons with Florida's Sam Reinhart, teammate Adam Henrique and Detroit's Vladimir Tarasenko.

                  Last season, the Oilers marked McDavid's birthday by putting the bow on their franchise-best 10th straight victory with a 2-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens, and Monday's meeting with the Kings was trending in that direction with only one goal scored through 40 minutes.

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                      Connor speaks to the media after Monday's win over the Kings

                      THIRD PERIOD

                      When Draisaitl had a dangerous chance in close on a two-on-one with Arvidsson stopped by Kuemper just past the five-minute mark of the final period, the Oilers officially erased LA's advantage in shots from the opening frame and were doing everything but score that much-needed second goal.

                      Edmonton had a couple of great chances to double their lead that they couldn't put away despite having the Kings on their heels, but there was still time for the visitors to fight their way back, pulling the goalie with over two minutes remaining to put pressure on the Oilers to defend their lead.

                      McDavid came inches away from putting the game to bed after he hit the post from just outside the LA blueline, extending the game into a nerve-wracking final minute, but there'd be no spoiling of McDavid's birthday or Skinner's shutout on this occasion.

                      "For whatever reason, we struggle with those," McDavid said of playing six-on-five. "But I thought we were solid there. We didn't give up much. I thought maybe they had one crack at the net, but Stu was solid again. So I liked our six-on-five there, and it's nice to find a way to finish the game, but we're comfortable in those situations."

                      The Kings couldn't get anything going with the extra attacker, with Skinner shutting the door for his sixth career shutout and a first-star performance with 30 saves in a match that looked a lot like playoff hockey.

                      "I thought it was pretty intense, tight-checking, a lot of motion and a lot of intensity out there," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "So I thought for a January game, it was the closest to playoff hockey that we've seen."

                      "They're just a good team," Draisaitl added. "They've got a lot of good players. Obviously, their system in the neutral zone has changed a little bit, but it's just two good teams going at it – two teams that know each other really well."

                      McDavid's 17th goal would go down as the game-winner and the only marker of the night to give the Oilers a massive two points, keeping them above the Kings in second place in the Pacific Division while sitting just four points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for first.

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                          Leon talks to the media as the Oilers defeated the Kings 1-0