Edmonton, Alberta ( Associated Press) — Conor McDavid had one goal and one assist as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-0 in Game 7 on Saturday night to reach the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Cody Ceci also scored and Mike Smith made 28 saves for his second shutout of the playoffs for the Oilers, who last won Game 7 in 1998 and celebrated their first playoff series win since 2017.
Jonathan Quick made 39 saves for the Kings, who haven’t won a playoff series since winning their second Stanley Cup in 2014 – last year as they won the series in Game 7.
With no goals in the opening round, the Oilers fired 10 shots at Quick, while the Kings sent seven shots at Smith. Quick entered the game in Game 7s with a career record of 4–0.
Edmonton came close to scoring in the middle, though second when a puck in a scramble was going over the goal line, but was fished to safety in time by Kings forward Andreas Athanasiou.
The Oilers eventually broke the deadlock in the second period with 6:45 as McDavid fed a pass from the back of the net to pinching Ceci, who fired a shot over Quick’s shoulder.
Edmonton came close to extending their lead twice at the start of the third as Josh Archibald missed a puck through Quick’s legs and Kailar Yamamoto hit a post with most of the open net to shoot.
The Oilers eventually found some insurance on a superb individual effort with 3:53 in the third from McDavid, who went past the net before sending off his second backhand attempt for his fourth goal and a league-leading 14th playoff point. McDavid made several-point attempts in six of the series’ seven games.
The Oilers will now move on to play either Calgary or Dallas, going into their own Game 7 on Sunday.
NOTES: Oilers defenseman Darnell Norse returns in Game 6 after serving a one-game suspension for head-butting Philippe Danault in Game 5 … there was some concern after Edmonton’s Leon Dracitel and Brett Kulak missed the Morning Skate , but both were able to play, leaving the Oilers, however, would have a healthy roster to choose from. … The Kings remained without Victor Arvidson (lower body), Drew Doughty (wrist) and Sean Walker (knee). … There was no change in scoring in any game in the series, with each gamer scoring first by the winning team.
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