Oilers at Kings
With their 11-year postseason drought officially ended, the Edmonton Oilers continue their pursuit of their first division title in 30 years on Tuesday when they open a three-game road trip against the Los Angeles Kings. Edmonton has been idle since winning its fifth straight with Saturday's 3-2 overtime triumph versus Anaheim, but the Pacific Division-leading Ducks moved two points ahead of the Oilers with a 4-3 victory over Calgary the following night.
Hart Trophy candidate Connor McDavid (NHL-best 65 assists, 94 points) and Leon Draisaitl are riding high with respective 10-game point streaks after the former had a goal and two assists while the latter tallied in overtime against Anaheim. McDavid has erupted for 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) and Draisaitl has 18 (five goals, 13 assists) during that stretch for Edmonton, which has outscored Los Angeles 7-2 en route to winning each of the last three meetings. The Kings officially saw their long-shot postseason plans come to an end Sunday as a lack of offense once again did in the club during a 2-1 setback to Arizona. Los Angeles, which is averaging just 2.4 goals per contest for fifth-worst in the league, has recorded two goals or fewer in 42 of its 78 games this season - including each of the last three encounters with the Oilers.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, Sportsnet West (Los Angeles), NHL.TV
ABOUT THE OILERS (44-25-9): Workhorse goaltender Cam Talbot earned NHL Third Star of the Week honors on Monday after turning aside 88 of 93 shots to win his last three games, and that performance pales in comparison to his last three encounters with Los Angeles (3-0-0, 0.67 goals-against average, .980 save percentage). The 29-year-old, who put forth arguably his best performance in a 35-save effort in a 2-0 win over the Kings on March 20, has upped his win total to 40 to tie Hall of Famer Grant Fuhr (1987-88) for the most in franchise history. "Any time your name is anywhere near Grant Fuhr's name, that's pretty special," Talbot said. "To be on that list is a pretty big achievement. It just shows the kind of team we have this year and how we have come together and how we've played."
ABOUT THE KINGS (37-34-7): Captain Anze Kopitar (team-leading 37 assists) has been providing consistent offense of late with 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in his last 18 games, but the reality of missing the NHL's second season is a disheartening one. "It is a very empty feeling and sour taste," the 29-year-old Kopitar said. "We knew what the situation was the last few contests. We gave it our all, it wasn't good enough." Fellow veteran forward Jarome Iginla was held off the scoresheet against the Coyotes, snapping a three-game goal-scoring streak that began in a 2-1 setback at Edmonton on March 28.
OVERTIME
1. Edmonton owns an impressive 29-6-3 mark when it scores the first goal of a game.
2. Los Angeles C Jeff Carter (team-leading 32 goals, 62 points) has just one goal and one assist in his last nine contests overall.
3. The Oilers sport a 17-5-3 mark versus Pacific representatives while the Kings have dropped 15 of 26 encounters (11-13-2) against division foes.