The Los Angeles Kings needed one more win to dispatch of the Edmonton Oilers and advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The heavily favorited Oilers lost home ice advantage and one more contest like Game 4 when the Kings shut out Edmonton 4-0 would seal their fate.
The team that scored first in the first five games went on to win, so the Kings knew they had to strike first. Unfortunately for L.A. things didn't go as planned.
The Oilers scored the first two goals of the game and hung on to defeat the Kings, 4-2, forcing a winner-take-all Game 7 back in Edmonton on Saturday.
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The Kings ruined their chance to eliminate the Oilers on home ice and lost their grip on the seven-game series in the first two minutes of periods one and two. The Oilers scored quickly in each of the first two periods and now it's the Kings who are one loss away from another first-round playoff exit.
Things started well for the visitors when Connor McDavid opened the scoring just 100 seconds into the game. McDavid wrapped around the back of the net and somehow slotted the puck between Quick's pads and off the far post for the goal.
The Oilers added to their score this time 110 seconds into the second period when Evander Kane notched his sixth goal of the playoffs on a re-direct off a slap shot by Brett Kulak in front of the net.
But the Kings would cut the lead in half on the power play at the end of the second period. Sean Durzi's shot from just in front of the blue soared past Mike Smith and into the back of the net for L.A.'s first goal of the game.
With the Kings back in the game, Crypto.com Arena was rocking to start the third period. That's when the Kings turned the tables on the Oilers with a goal of their own in the opening seconds. Carl Grundstrom scored his third goal of the series when he went top-shelf to Smith's stick-side for the game-tying goal.
But the Oilers would not flinch in the face of doubt and danger. Tyson Barrie scored the game-winning goal with just over five minutes remaining in the game to five Edmonton the 3-2 victory.
Kane scored again in the empty net with less than a minute remaining, giving him seven goals in the series.
Quick was 33-for-36 on saves in the night. His counterpart, Smith, made 29 saves in the victory.
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Game 7 will take place on Saturday night at Rogers Arena in Edmonton at 7:00PM PT.
