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Oilers push Kings to brink of elimination with decisive Game 5 win in Edmonton

Nick Bjugstad scored a pair of goals in the Oilers’ 6-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday as Edmonton took a 3-2 lead in the playoff series.

The Oilers are one win away from advancing to the second round. Game 6 is Saturday in Los Angeles. Game 7, if necessary, will be Monday in Edmonton.

Leon Draisaitl, Evander Kane, Zach Hyman and Brett Kulak also scored for Edmonton.

Captain Connor McDavid had a pair of assists, as did defensemen Matias Ekholm and Darnell Nourse.

Stuart Skinner is back in net for Edmonton after being replaced by Jack Campbell in Edmonton’s Game 4 overtime win Sunday.

The 24-year-old Edmontonian made 25 saves for the win.

WATCH |: Bjugstad scores a pair to help the Oilers take the series lead.

Oilers beat Kings in Game 5 as Bjugstad scores twice

Edmonton is one win away from advancing to the second round after defeating Los Angeles 6-3 to take a 3-2 playoff series lead. Nick Bjugstad scores multiple goals, including the game winner.

His Los Angeles counterpart, Joonas Korpisalo, came on for Phoenix Copley after Edmonton’s fourth goal in the second period Tuesday.

Corpisalo, who has faced more rubber than any other goaltender this postseason, stopped 15 of 19 shots before giving way to Copley and his six saves.

Quinton Byfield, Adrian Kempe and Alex Iaffalo scored for the Kings.

When the two clubs met in the first round last year, the Kings claimed Game 5 to take the series to Los Angeles, with the Oilers winning back-to-back games.

Edmonton now has a chance to close it out on the road in this series.

The Oilers committed their one penalty and scored on two of three power-play opportunities Tuesday, going 8-for-14 with the man advantage in the series.

Bjugstad scored his second goal of the game at 4:26 of the third period.

His floating backhand toward the net bounced off the skate of Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson and crossed the goal line.

Byfield scored the Kings’ third goal at 6:33, firing a shot past Skinner past the Edmonton goalie.

Hyman, the overtime hero of Game 4, scored Edmonton’s fifth goal with his face.

There were just 10 seconds left on Kevin Fiala’s penalty kick at 15:47 of the second period.

Hyman shrugged off the discomfort and continued playing.

But the turning point for Edmonton was sustaining the offensive pressure midway through the second period. Unit after unit turned the box and worked hard to keep it inside.

Their reward for that effort was Bjugstad, who tapped in Cody Ceci’s shot from the blue line at 11:49 for a 4-2 lead.

As they did in the first two games of this series at Rogers Place, the Oilers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. But Edmonton led 3-2 after the opening period.

Kempe pounced on Skinner at 17:35 to give the visitors the lead.

Corner Ryan McLeod hit a cross-ice puck in front of Korpisalo for Kulak to hide by Byfield and beat Korpisalo at 14:12.

A minute earlier, Iaffalo scored LA’s second of the game, cutting off Kempe’s spinaround attempt and past Skinner.

McDavid sets up Draisaitl

Draisaitl made it 2-0 for the home team at 10:40 on a feed from McDavid behind the goal line.

Draisaitl was going down as Byfield pushed him, but got a shot and beat Korpisalo for his NHL-leading sixth playoff goal.

With Carl Grundstrom in the penalty box for a hook on McDavid, Kane stepped into the faceoff circle and fired a shot off the far post and into the back of the net at 8:08 with just four seconds left on the penalty kill.

The Kings were without forward Blake Lizotti (lower body) for the third straight game. Edmonton was without forward Matias Janmark in Game 4 after he blocked a shot in Game 1.


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