LOS ANGELES — Heartbreak came early in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the Edmonton Oilers.
Up 3-1 in the third period of Game 1 of a first round series against the Los Angeles Kings, the Oilers allowed an Adrian Kempe goal to bring the game to within one before Anze Kopitar tied things up with 17 seconds remaining in regulation.
Kopitar's tying goal came with the goalie pulled for the extra attacker, and was his third of four points on the night.
"Kopitar is obviously one of the best leaders out there," Adrian Kempe told reporters. "He takes charge when he is out there, and we were talking after the first period we weren't really happy with the way our line was playing after the first. Kopi took charge in the second period ... obviously we scored a couple of goals, and he had four points."
Then, halfway through the first overtime period, Alex Iafallo won it on a power play goal, causing Oilers fans to rain debris down onto the ice.
It was all a sign of maturity that the Oilers lacked, according to Leon Draisaitl.
"It's frustrating, but we've got to be more mature than that," Draisaitl said. "It's a 3-1 game and [there's] eight minutes left or whatever, so we've got to lock that down."
Draisaitl scored two goal, while Connor McDavid was held without a point, which is a rarity, although the Kings seem to have his number.
McDavid was on the Kings' radar not only because he's McDavid, but also after the Kings’ most recent matchup against Edmonton, during which the Oilers superstar was penalized for boarding Mikey Anderson.
“If we get a chance to smack [McDavid], we’re gonna try to do that,” Drew Doughty said before Game 1, via Sportsnet.
Add it all, and give us six more games like this, please.
"This is going to be a phenomenal series," said Dane Lewis of the Locked On NHL podcast. "Throw in some hatred, the divisional rivalry, and both teams being incredibly active in terms of trades and free agency ... the winner of this series could very well be the representative in the Stanley Cup Finals."