Nugent-Hopkins, Bouchard help Oilers to lead over Kings after first period
Published
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evan Bouchard scored to give the Edmonton Oilers a 2-1 lead over the Los Angeles Kings after the first period in Game 3 of the first-round, best-of-seven series.
Nugent-Hopkins got on the scoresheet just 2:49 into the opening frame, sliding his way to the front of the net before taking a slick feed from Zach Hyman and burying his first of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Connor McDavid recorded a secondary assist on the play for his fifth point of the series.
Bouchard would double Edmonton’s lead with a goal on the power play six minutes later after Andrei Kuzmenko took a two-minute minor for interference.
Leon Draisaitl stepped into the face-off dot before winning the draw back to Bouchard on the blue line. The 25-year-old defenceman would step into a slap shot, beating Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper for a 2-0 lead just three seconds into having the man advantage.
With the goal, Bouchard tied Oilers great Paul Coffey with his 33rd career power-play point in the postseason, the highest mark among blueliners in Edmonton’s franchise history.
The Kings would respond by way of an Adrian Kempe goal at the 17:17 mark of the first period to make it a 2-1 game.
Playing at four-on-four following a pair of slashing minors to Joel Edmundson and Draisaitl, Kempe would wire his shot past Calvin Pickard for his fourth goal and eighth point of the series.
Pickard, making his third career start in the Stanley Cup playoffs Friday, stopped nine of 10 shots faced in the first period.
Pickard was tabbed as Edmonton’s Game 3 starter after Stuart Skinner recorded an .889 save percentage and 6.11 goals-against average in the first two games of the series.
Kuemper allowed two goals on 11 shots in the first period, as his team now trails for the first time in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Kings lead the series 2-0.