Oilers prevail in Game 5 to move within 1 win of advancing
The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-1 in Game 5 on Tuesday night to grab a 3-2 series lead.
Mattias Janmark potted the winner in the third period for his second goal of the first-round matchup. He scored twice in 80 contests in the regular season.
This is the Oilers' first lead of the series after they dropped the first two games and the first time the road team has won a game in the matchup.
Edmonton netminder Calvin Pickard enjoyed another strong outing, allowing one goal on 22 shots for a tidy .955 save percentage. He took over as the Oilers' starting goalie after Game 2.
At the other end of the ice, Darcy Kuemper was fantastic in defeat. He was beaten twice on 45 shots and saved 3.99 goals above expected at all strengths, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The Kings opened the scoring thanks to a power-play goal from Andrei Kuzmenko in the middle frame, but Evander Kane answered for Edmonton just under three minutes later.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins shored things up with an empty-netter in the final minute.
The Oilers will have a chance to punch their ticket to Round 2 in Edmonton during Game 6 on Thursday at 10 p.m. ET.