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.