What's next for the L.A. Kings after fourth straight playoff exit to Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers may have been down, but they proved you can’t count them out.

Connor Brown had a goal and two assists as the Edmonton Oilers punched their ticket to the second round of the playoffs with a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Darnell Nurse, Zach Hyman and Trent Frederic each had a goal and an assist and Adam Henrique also scored for the Oilers, who won four straight to take the best-of-seven series in six games.

Calvin Pickard made 23 saves.

“We got offense from all over the lineup today, it’s great,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who had an assist to give him 11 points in the series. “You need that, you need different guys stepping up. I thought (Brown) had his best game as an Oiler, maybe. He was fantastic. Pickard, obviously… you go down the list, we had guys step up. It wasn’t our best, but we found a way tonight and that’s what good teams do.”

The Oilers will take on the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round.

“This is a resilient group, one that believes that no matter how much we are pushed up against the wall that we can find a way to win and it was a testament to it this series,” Nurse said.

Quinton Byfield, Brandt Clarke, Jordan Spence and Anze Kopitar replied for the Kings, who have been eliminated by the Oilers in the first round in four consecutive seasons. Los Angeles hasn’t won a playoff series since 2014, when it beat the New York Rangers to win the Stanley Cup.

Darcy Kuemper stopped 23 of 28 shots for the Kings.

“This one’s tough to swallow obviously. Having the season we had, and to have the guys in this locker room and come up short again, it’s frustrating — this one hurts a little more,” Kopitar said.

The Kings scored on their first shot just 1:19 into the first period as Kevin Fiala sprung Byfield on a breakaway.

Edmonton tied it 3:04 into the first as Brown took a shot through traffic that hit Henrique up high and caromed into the net.

The Kings responded 33 seconds later on just their third shot on Pickard as a low percentage shot from Clarke appeared to deflect off Nurse’s stick and went up high and in.

The Oilers tied it again at the 5:55 mark of the opening period on the power play as Connor McDavid made a nice cross-ice feed to Nugent-Hopkins. Edmonton became the first team in NHL history to record two game-tying goals in the opening six minutes of a playoff game.

Edmonton took its first lead with seven minutes to play in the first as a long shot by Nurse was deflected in by Hyman to make it 3-2.

Los Angeles got within 5-4 with their goalie pulled and 55 seconds remaining as Drew Doughty's point shot hit Kopitar’s stick on its way into the net.

Brown put the series away with an empty-netter with two seconds left.

What's next?

The Kings haven’t beaten the Oilers in the postseason since 1989, with many fans calling it a "curse" and Edmonton simply the team's kryptonite.

The reality is that this season's playoff defeat might be the most frustrating. After tying the franchise record for wins (48) and points (105) in a season, the Kings were the higher-seed and the favorites to defeat the Oilers in the first round.

They won a record 31 times at home this season, including the first two games of the series. However, they struggled to hold leads and their lack of depth against the Oilers was their downfall the longer the series went on.

Los Angeles, who had lost four straight games only one other time during the entirety of the 82-game regular season, dropped four straight to the Oilers to be eliminated from the playoffs.

It's now back to the drawing board for Los Angeles this offseason as they will look for ways to close out games, and deepen their bench, and defense if they want to beat their nemesis in the Edmonton.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman gave an emphatic "no" when asked if he would change the current NHL Playoff format earlier this season, so the chances that the Kings and Oilers could meet again next year in the first round remain strong.