Kraken outlast Wild 4-3 in final regular-season game for non-playoff teams

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Tye Kartye tipped in a slap shot by Oliver Bjorkstrand for the tiebreaking goal with 2:40 remaining, and the Seattle Kraken held on to beat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 on Thursday night to wrap up the regular season for two teams that missed the playoffs.

Brock Faber answered Yanni Gourde's empty-netter with 1:46 left by scoring for the Wild on a 6-on-4 power play with 1:05 left and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury pulled, but Kraken goalie Joey Daccord — who had 21 saves — and the defense held up.

“It’s been tough sledding all year, and I think it was only fitting that we brought it down to the wire there at the last second,” Daccord said.

Brandon Tanev, who assisted on both of Gourde's third period goals, painfully blocked a shot with his lower body in the final seconds that had him doubled over on the ice at the final horn.

“Turbo made some elite blocks there,” Gourde said. “Everybody battled.”

Kirill Kaprizov scored his 46th goal of the season on a power play in the first period, and Mats Zuccarello had the tying goal midway through the third period for the Wild.

Matty Beniers tied the game for the Kraken in the second period on a power play tip-in before Gourde's short-handed breakaway. He later scored on an empty-netter.

Beniers, the second overall pick in the 2021 draft, dropped to 15 goals and 37 points this season after the first-line center had 24 goals and 57 points in 2022-23.

Kaprizov finished with 96 points this season after a slow start, by far the second-most in franchise history behind his 105 points in 2021-22 when he had 47 goals and 61 assists to set the all-time Wild marks in all three categories. Kevin Fiala is third with 85 points in 2021-22.

When Kraken leading scorer Jared McCann made a blind pass away from the boards toward teammate Will Borgen, Kaprizov intercepted it and flicked in an unobstructed wrist shot for the early lead.

The Wild have had five 40-goal scorers in their 23-season history, including Kaprizov three times. Eric Staal (2017-18) and Marian Gaborik (2007-08) were the others.

“If you’re really going to go places in this league, you really need a player of his caliber and what he means to the team in situations he plays in,” coach John Hynes said. "I really respect his effort.”

Daccord had a strong season for the Kraken, but after upsetting 2022 champion Colorado in the first round of the playoffs last spring, the club took a step backward. They and the Wild were in a crowd of teams in the mix for the Western Conference wild-card spots, but they were eliminated seven games ago.

The Wild were ousted from contention five games ago, missing the postseason for just the second time in 12 years. Fleury, who signed a $2.5 million contract extension to return for next season and received the Wild’s nomination for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, the NHL’s annual leadership and philanthropy award, was one bright spot. He passed Patrick Roy for second place on the all-time wins list in January.

The 39-year-old was presented with the Wild’s Tom Kurvers Humanitarian Award on the ice before the game. Kurvers, an assistant general manager for the Wild, died in 2021 of cancer.

For all the fuss made over Fleury this year, he has quickly pointed to his absence from the playoffs — for the first time since 2006 — as the overriding theme of the season.

“The last little stretch here in the season was weird, playing for nothing really, right?” said Fleury, who made 23 saves. "So, not a good feeling, and definitely something I don’t want to feel next year.”

This story has been corrected to change the Wild's goal scorer with 1:05 left to Brock Faber, not Ryan Hartman. There was an official scoring change made from the original ruling.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury gives up a goal to Seattle Kraken center Matty Beniers during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber (7) and Seattle Kraken right wing Eeli Tolvanen collide during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Seattle Kraken center Matty Beniers (10) celebrates after scoring against the Minnesota Wild during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (29) stops a Seattle Kraken shot during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Seattle Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord douses himself with water after a goal scored by Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov, center, celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Seattle Kraken during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov, left, fends off Seattle Kraken defenseman Will Borgen during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Wild right wing Mats Zuccarello (36) trips Seattle Kraken center Yanni Gourde, front, during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 18, 2024, in St. Paul, Minn. Zuccarello was penalized for tripping. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings played a tight-checking series at even strength. The special teams matchup, however, was lopsided — and that’s why it ended in five games.

“That was a difference in this series,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said.

Leon Draisaitl scored twice, and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 in Game 5 on Wednesday night to win their first-round NHL playoff series.

The Oilers power play went 1 for 5 on the night but scored twice just after time had expired on a penalty. Edmonton finished 9 for 20 with the man-advantage in the five games. Los Angeles, meanwhile, was 0 for 1 in this game, going scoreless on 12 power plays in the series.

“It’s pretty simple to write this one,” Kings interim head coach Jim Hiller said. “You saw one team execute, and one team not, on special teams.”

Zach Hyman -- with his seventh goal of the postseason -- and Evander Kane also scored for Edmonton, which only dropped a 5-4 loss in overtime of Game 2 in the best-of-seven series.

Evan Bouchard added three assists, and Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two each as Edmonton’s offense broke out at Rogers Place. McDavid extended his points total to a playoff-leading 12 (one goal, 11 assists).

Stuart Skinner made 18 saves after posting a shutout in Edmonton’s 1-0 win at Los Angeles in Game 4.

The Oilers move on to the second round, where they’ll face the winner of a matchup between the Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators. Vancouver leads the series 3-2 heading into Game 6 on Friday in Nashville.

The Oilers now get some rest while waiting for their next opponent.

“Rest is always a good thing, rest is a weapon this time of year,” McDavid said. “That being said, we have to make sure we’re ready to roll. Practice hard against each other ... make sure there’s no change in our game.”

Adrian Kempe, Alex Laferriere and Blake Lizotte scored for Los Angeles, and David Rittich stopped 22 shots in his second straight start.

Edmonton eliminated Los Angeles in the opening round for the third straight year after coming out on top in six games in 2023 and seven in 2022.

“You’re out of the playoffs regardless of who beats you, but definitely not a great feeling getting the worst of it three years in a row,” the Kings' Anze Kopitar said. ”We’ve just got to play better, really. Special teams hurt us a lot, obviously, this series. There were parts of the games where we were good, we were dictating the game, but you’ve got to do it, obviously, more often and every game, too, in order to win the series.”

Down 2-1 in the second period, the Oilers scored three consecutive goals to take 4-2 lead.

Draisaitl had a power-play goal at 7:44 after a couple exchanges with McDavid to tie it. Rittich appeared to rob Draisaitl with a desperation glove save, but fans cheered as if it were a goal upon seeing the replay and officials ruled the puck crossed the line after a video review.

McDavid and Draisaitl connected again just after a penalty expired with 7:39 left in the period for the German forward’s fifth of the playoffs.

“When he’s got his feet moving, when he’s playing hard on both sides of the puck, there’s not many guys better than him in the whole world,” McDavid said. “He always seems to bring that game this time of year.”

The undisciplined Kings put Edmonton up a man again near the end of the period. This time, Hyman tapped home a puck on the goal line moments after Kings forward Pierre-Luc Dubois stepped out of the box to make it 4-2.

The Oilers hunkered down to hold off the Kings most of the third. But with the goalie pulled, Kempe deflected a shot past Skinner with 2:18 left to trim the deficit to one.

The Kings pressured for an equalizer in the final two minutes until Phillip Danault hooked Draisaitl with 19.7 seconds left — sending Edmonton on a power play and squashing L.A.’s chances of a comeback.

Kane opened the scoring on Edmonton’s second shot of the night at 10:17 with a soft backhand that slipped past Rittich.

Los Angeles tied it with 28 seconds left in the first when the puck caromed around the boards and bounced in front of the net to Laferriere, who shot into an open net with Skinner out to play the puck.

Lizotte then scored 3:08 into the second to give Los Angeles its only lead of the game and quiet Rogers Place before Edmonton replied with an onslaught.

It’s the first time the Oilers have advanced from the first round in three straight years since 1990-92.

The Oilers fell 4-2 in the second round to the eventual Stanley Cup-champion Vegas Golden Knights last year.

McDavid became the sixth player to record 10 or more assists through the first five games of the playoffs — and the first in nearly 30 years. Draisaitl joined McDavid and Sidney Crosby as the third active player to record 10 points in four or more playoff series.

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Los Angeles Kings goalie David Rittich (31) looks on as Edmonton Oilers' Vincent Desharnais (73), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93), Leon Draisaitl (29), Evander Kane (91) and Brett Kulak (27) celebrate a goal during the first period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, on Wednesday May 1, 2024 in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings players celebrate a goal against the Edmonton Oilers during the first period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, on Wednesday May 1, 2024 in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings' Alex Laferriere (78) scores a goal on Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner (74) during the first period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, on Wednesday May 1, 2024 in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings goalie David Rittich (31) is scored on by Edmonton Oilers' Zach Hyman (18) during the second period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, on Wednesday May 1, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings' Matt Roy (3) chases Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97) as goalie David Rittich (31) poke checks the puck during the second period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, on Wednesday May 1, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings' Mikey Anderson (44) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (80) chase Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97) during the second period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, on Wednesday May 1, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner (74) and Mattias Ekholm (14) celebrate the win over the Los Angeles Kings in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, on Wednesday May 1, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers players shake hands after the Oilers won Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, on Wednesday May 1, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl (29), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) and Zach Hyman (18) celebrate a goal against the Los Angeles Kings during the second period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, on Wednesday May 1, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Mattias Ekholm (14) celebrates the win over the Los Angeles Kings in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, on Wednesday May 1, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93), Leon Draisaitl (29), Evan Bouchard (2), Zach Hyman (18) and Connor McDavid (97) celebrate a goal against the Los Angeles Kings during the second period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, on Wednesday May 1, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)