Streak stalled: Kings topple Oilers 3-2

Edmonton's Dustin Penner and Los Angeles' Justin Williams compete for the puck Tuesday night at Rexall Place. The Kings went on to beat the Oilers 3-2. (Photo by Andy Devlin / Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club)

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PRE-GAME

Preview Game Notes Head-to-Head Stats Comparison Game Program Video interviews Audio Interviews

PHOTOS

Click here for the photo gallery

VIDEO

Watch tonight's video highlights Oilers post-game with Sheldon Souray, Dustin Penner, Denis Grebeshkov, Ryan Potulny and head coach Pat Quinn. Kings post-game with Dustin Brown, Jonathan Quick and head coach Terry Murray.

AUDIO

Audio Highlights Denis Grebeshkov Dustin Penner Ryan Potulny Sheldon Souray Pat Quinn

THREE STARS

Jonathan Quick, LAK - 27 saves Sheldon Souray, EDM - 1g & 1a Brad Richardson, LAK - 1g + 1a

UPDATE

With the loss, the Oilers drop to 15-14-4 and move into a tie with Columbus for 12th spot in the Western Conference with 34 points.

WHAT'S NEXT

Edmonton continues their pre-holiday homestand Thursday, December 17 vs. Nashville. The puck drops at 7:30. If you can't make the game, you can watch it live on Molson Canadian Oilers Pay Per View. Click here for PPV information Click here for tickets

by Jen Sharpe | edmontonoilers.com

With four straight comeback wins on their resume, the Oilers laid off the panic button and used goals from Sheldon Souray and Ryan Potulny to came back from a two-goal deficit. But a well-screened slapper by the Kings' Sean O'Donnell late in the game put the visitors back on top, and the Oil simply ran out of time, suffering a 3-2 loss Tuesday night.

Goaltender Jeff Deslauriers stopped 23 shots in the loss, Edmonton's first in six games.

• For an alternate take on the game, read Under The Scope

FIRST PERIOD

The Oilers and Kings tested goalies Jonathan Quick and Jeff Deslauriers early in the game, but the Kings hit the buzzer first. Five minutes into the contest, Dustin Brown and Brad Richardson embarked on a two-on-one that concluded with a wrister from Richardson that slid under Deslauriers' right pad.

The teams stayed neck-and-neck on the shot clock following the goal, but despite a flurry of chances on two occasions, Edmonton was unable to match L.A. in goals and headed to the second period down 1-0.

SECOND PERIOD

The Kings came out with some authority in the middle frame, dominating the play and firing the first four shots. At 3:44, the Oilers experienced some deja vu as Richardson and Brown powered in on Deslauriers. Although the goalie stopped Richardson's initial shot, Brown soaked up and spit out the juicy rebound while falling to the ice, making it 2-0 for L.A.

Four minutes later, the Kings' Raitis Ivanans picked a fight with Jean-Francois Jacques near Quick's net. The lengthy duel tuckered out both players, but the Oilers came out on top thanks to an extra instigator and 10-minute misconduct to Ivanans.

Unfortunately for the Oil, the game's first powerplay failed to result in a goal and the club continued to trail by two.

But with just under eight minutes left on the clock and both teams at full strength, the Oilers made it happen. Although Quick resisted an initial assault by Edmonton's top line, on the following face-off, Sheldon Souray's quick release surprised the goalie and got the Oilers on the board.

The Oil ignited with the goal, but misses by mere inches and a clutch stick save from former teammate Matt Greene kept the tying goal off the board.

After 40 minutes, Edmonton was up 19 shots to 18 but trailed 2-1.

THIRD PERIOD

Whereas the Kings dominated the first minutes of the second period, the Oilers gave them a taste of their own medicine at the start of the third. After testing Quick with four shots to no avail, Edmonton caught L.A. on a line change and started a surprise attack. With Sheldon Souray at his side, Ryan Potulny initiated up a textbook give-and-take that he sealed with a slapshot to tie the game at two.

The Oilers approached 30 shots as the period progressed, but the Kings would be the next to make one count. With just under five minutes left in regulation, defenceman Sean O'Donnell found a hole in traffic and wired the puck past Deslauriers to renew L.A's lead.

Shortly thereafter, Edmonton got the chance to get back on even terms when Greene spent a little too long with his arm around Andrew Cogliano, but Shawn Horcoff negated the man-advantage by taking an interference minor only 35 seconds in.

Although they Kings never regained the shot lead, they didn't need to: The Oilers were unable to get another shot past Quick and saw their five-game winning streak come to an end in Edmonton Tuesday night.