LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 28: Trevor Moore #12 of the Los Angeles Kings shoots the puck during the third period against the Edmonton Oilers in Game Four of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena on April 28, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gary A. Vasquez/NHLI via Getty Images)
Stuart Skinner stopped 33 shots for his first postseason shutout, Evan Bouchard scored on the power play midway through the second period and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings 1-0 in Game 4 on Sunday to move a win away from advancing.
Skinner is the eighth goalie in franchise history to record a postseason shutout and the first since Mike Smith had two in the first round against the Kings two years ago. The most recent was in Game 7 of the 2022 first-round series when Smith made 29 saves in a 2-0 victory.
It was Skinner's 16th postseason start. It is the fifth shutout of his career after he had two during the regular season.
Edmonton has a 3-1 lead in the first-round series. Game 5 is Wednesday night in Edmonton. The Kings have dropped four straight playoff series since winning the Stanley Cup in 2014.
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David Rittich got the start in goal for the Kings after Cam Talbot had a 5.31 goals-against average and .891 save percentage in the first three games. Rittich made 12 saves and Los Angeles had a 33-13 advantage in shots on goal as the Kings were aggressive on the forecheck, but the difference in the game again was special teams.
The Oilers scored on their lone power-play opportunity and are 8 of 15 in the series. Los Angeles is the only team in the postseason that hasn't scored on the power play.
They were 0 for 1 on Sunday and 0 for 11 in the series. Trevor Moore had a shot just go wide when the Kings had the man advantage in the third period.
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Matt Roy also had a prime scoring opportunity when the teams were at even strength in the second period, but couldn't get it into the net.
The game's first penalty wasn't called until 10:46 into the second, when Los Angeles' Andreas Englund was sent off for holding. Edmonton converted on the power play 63 seconds later when Bouchard blasted a one-timer from the point after getting the pass from McDavid.
It was McDavid's ninth assist and 10th point of the series. That made the Oilers' superstar center the eighth player in NHL history to have at least five 10-point postseason series in their career. Three have come against Los Angeles.
The Kings pulled Rittich for the extra skater with 1:34 remaining, but were unable to get a great opportunity.
