Hyman gets 1st playoff hat trick, McDavid has 5 assists as Oilers beat Kings 7-4 in Game 1

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Zach Hyman helped make sure the Edmonton Oilers avoided another early first-round playoff series hole.

Hyman had three goals and an assist in his first postseason hat trick, Connor McDavid had five assists and the Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings 7-4 Monday night in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

“I thought we had a good start, I thought we were good in the first period, worked our way to a 2-0 lead and I thought we showed good energy and we played really well in the first,” McDavid said.

Adam Henrique, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl and Warren Foegele also scored and Evan Bouchard chipped in with four assists for the Oilers, who had lost the first game of their last seven playoff series and had not won Game 1 of a series on home ice since 1990.

Stuart Skinner finished with 33 saves.

“I thought it was a great overall performance,” Bouchard said. “We got on them early like we wanted to do. They pushed, but we battled back and it worked out in our favor. ... Whenever you can get up in a series it’s always a good feeling, especially the way we did it.”

Edmonton is 21-3 all-time when taking a 1-0 lead in a best-of-seven series.

Mikey Anderson, Adrian Kempe, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Trevor Moore scored for the Kings, who were eliminated in the opening round by the Oilers in each of the previous two seasons. Cam Talbot had 38 saves.

“That’s not our model. That’s not the way we play. It’s frustrating,” veteran Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said. “We just have to put that game in the past and get back to doing what we do best and that’s playing good two-way hockey.

“We’re down 1-0, but we can easily win and make it 1-1 next game. We have to put it behind us, and learn from what we did wrong and fix what we did wrong and bring it into the next game.”

Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is Wednesday night.

Hyman, who rang a shot off the post a few minutes earlier, started the scoring 6:52 into the opening period. McDavid spun off a defender and then sent a backhand pass in front to Hyman, who beat Talbot. Hyman had 54 goals in the regular season.

Edmonton made it 2-0 less than three minutes later as Henrique, who was picked up at the trade deadline from Anaheim, fired a perfect wrist shot top corner for his first goal in his first postseason appearance in six years. Henrique set a Stanley Cup playoff record for the longest span between goals, his last goal coming 4,333 days earlier when he was in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final in 2012 with the New Jersey Devils.

McDavid continued to work his magic 4:50 into the second period as he once again spun out from behind the net and sent another pretty backhand pass in front to Hyman for his second of the night. The goal came right on the heels of the Kings’ best opportunity to that point when Viktor Arvidsson was stopped on a breakaway by Skinner.

Edmonton added another goal on the power play 8:24 into the second period as Draisaitl spotted Nugent-Hopkins at the backdoor to make it 4-0.

The Kings finally got on the board with 9:04 to play in the second period as Anderson sent a long shot through traffic that got past Skinner for his first career playoff goal.

Los Angeles looked to have struck again less than two minutes later, but was waved off a video review indicated that a shot went off of Trevor Lewis’s glove and was directed into the net.

The Kings did score with 2:04 to play in the middle period as Kempe sent a shot on net that deflected off of defender Bouchard and into the Oilers net to make it 4-2.

Draisaitl scored from a tough angle on a power play at 1:08 of the third.

The Oilers scored a third power-play goal at 6:17 of the third period as Hyman took up position at the side of the net and allowed McDavid to bank it off his stick to finish the hat trick.

Oiler fans peppered the ice with 1,131 hats.

“It is good for the Oilers Store,” said a laughing Hyman, who had four hat tricks during the season. “That is crazy. I have never seen so many hats. It is pretty special to do it here in front of the fans.”

Dubois and Moore scored late to make it 6-4, before Foegele had an empty-netter to seal the win.

Anze Kopitar played in his 93rd career playoff game, passing Dustin Brown, Dave Taylor and Jonathan Quick for second- most in Kings franchise history. He is only one game back of all-time playoff leader Luc Robitaille.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Los Angeles Kings goalie Cam Talbot (39) makes the save as Kings' Matt Roy (3) and Edmonton Oilers' Corey Perry (90) battle for a rebound during the first period of Game 1 in first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey action in Edmonton, Alberta, Monday, April 22, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings' Phillip Danault (24) and Edmonton Oilers' Mattias Janmark (13) battle for the puck during the first period of Game 1 in first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey action in Edmonton, Alberta, Monday, April 22, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings' Phillip Danault (24) skates past the Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97), Adam Henrique (19) and Evan Bouchard (2) who celebrate after a goal during the first period of Game 1 in first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey action in Edmonton, Alberta, Monday, April 22, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers rough it up during the first period of Game 1 in first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey action in Edmonton, Alberta, Monday, April 22, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings' Anze Kopitar (11), Quinton Byfield (55), Adrian Kempe (9) and Matt Roy (3) celebrate a goal as Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner (74) looks on during the second period of Game 1 in first round NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey action in Edmonton, Alberta, Monday, April 22, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings goalie Cam Talbot (39) is scored on by Edmonton Oilers' Zach Hyman (18) as Mikey Anderson (44) and Adam Henrique (19) battle in front during the second period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Edmonton, Alberta, Monday, April 22, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings' Jordan Spence (21) tries to stop Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid during the second period of Game 1 in first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey action in Edmonton, Alberta, Monday, April 22, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings' Drew Doughty (8) reacts to an empty net goal by the Edmonton Oilers during the third period of Game 1 in first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey action in Edmonton, Alberta, Monday, April 22, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings goalie Cam Talbot (39) is scored on by Edmonton Oilers' Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) during the second period of Game 1 in first round NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey action in Edmonton, Alberta, Monday, April 22, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings goalie Cam Talbot (39) is scored on by Edmonton Oilers' Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) during the second period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Edmonton, Alberta, Monday, April 22, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings' Matt Roy (3) skates past as Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97), Zach Hyman (18), Evan Bouchard (2) and Leon Draisaitl (29) as they celebrate a goal during the third period of Game 1 in first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey action in Edmonton, Alberta, Monday, April 22, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Zach Hyman (18) celebrates his hat trick against the Los Angeles Kings during the third period of Game 1 in first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey action in Edmonton, Alberta, Monday, April 22, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Zach Hyman (18) celebrates a goal against the Los Angeles Kings during the second period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Edmonton, Alberta, Monday, April 22, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Mattias Ekholm (14), Evan Bouchard (2) and Zach Hyman (18) celebrate after a goal against the Los Angeles Kings during the first period of Game 1 in first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey action in Edmonton, Alberta, Monday, April 22, 2024. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The memory of being unable to help the Carolina Hurricanes in the NHL playoffs last year still stings for Andrei Svechnikov. He has opened this postseason like a man savoring every moment of his return.

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound forward who missed last year's postseason with a knee injury had a strong first-round series against the New York Islanders, a physical presence with size and speed in the Hurricanes' aggressive-forechecking style. Now, with the Hurricanes preparing to face the New York Rangers in the second round, the player known around the locker room as “Svech” is eager to keep things rolling.

“I just want to go there and enjoy it,” Svechnikov said. “Obviously I had a tough time missing playoffs. I’m sure I would’ve helped a little bit. I’m just going there and enjoying my game and trying to give it my best shot there.”

Svechnikov, the No. 2 draft pick in 2018, developed into a talented contributor during the Hurricanes' climb from a nine-year postseason drought to making six straight playoff trips. But roughly a month after playing in his first NHL All-Star Game, he suffered a torn ACL in his right knee in March 2023 and missed Carolina's push for the Stanley Cup.

Ultimately, he could only help by cranking the “storm warning” siren announcing the Hurricanes' charge onto the ice in front of a roaring home crowd for the playoff opener. The Hurricanes missed him badly when they ran up against the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final, losing four in a row by a one-goal margin.

That highlighted a longtime desire of Carolina to have more high-end finishers and scoring depth, but the impact was just as much about missing the 24-year-old's physical, hard-skating style on a roster featuring speed and skill on the top lines. Beyond his scoring was his ability to win puck battles for a team that thrives on sustaining possession in the offensive zone.

“If you look at our team, he’s by far our best power forward,” president and general manager Don Waddell said. "He finishes his checks. He’s not afraid of anybody. He gives us some of that muscle up front that we missed last year.”

Svechnikov recovered from knee surgery in time to skate with the team to open training camp, and he made his season debut in the ninth game in late October. He finished with 19 goals and 33 assists in 59 regular-season games. He also showed some familiar flair with another of his lacrosse-style goals — scooping up the puck from behind the net and wrapping it around the pipes to jam it past the goalie — in a win at Boston in April.

Carolina's Sebastian Aho, who centers the top line and had Svechnikov on the wing for much of the Islanders series, pointed to value beyond goals and points for a player who is plus-8 through his first 45 career playoff games. Svechnikov's return is one of the reasons Carolina entered the playoffs as the favorite to win the Stanley Cup, according to Bet MGM Sportsbook,

“He's a beast out there,” Aho said.

Svechnikov scored his first goal of the postseason in the clinching Game 5 win. The Russian skated up the right side on the power play and attempted a pass to Aho near the crease, with the puck bouncing off the stick of Islanders defenseman Robert Bortuzzo as Bortuzzo reached forward and tried to stay with Aho — an example of how Svechnikov's play can push opponents into pressured and compromised positions.

“It just felt like every time he was on the ice, he was a force,” coach Rod Brind'Amour said afterward.

Svechnikov also had four assists against the Islanders, with his five points tied for second with Martin Necas and behind only Seth Jarvis (seven). Meanwhile, Svechnikov's average 18:07 ice time ranked fourth among the forwards behind only Aho (21:50), Jarvis (20:17) and Jake Guentzel (19:57). He also generally avoided taking bad penalties of late.

Svechnikov was eager to get started before the first puck drop, saying it felt like “like three years ago” since his last postseason game (it was only two, a Game 7 home loss to the Rangers in the 2022 second round ) and that he had “goosebumps” at the thought of returning.

Still, he also picked up a few observations while watching last year's run, namely about the value of patience and finding a way to “slow down a little bit” amid everyone frantically skating on adrenaline amid the playoff chaos.

Just don't expect too much of that.

“I don't really worry about (scoring),” Svechnikov said. “It's playoffs. I just go out there and try to have fun and obviously help the team to win the games. That's all I do.”

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Carolina Hurricanes' Andrei Svechnikov (37) celebrates his goal with Sebastian Aho (20) as New York Islanders' Cal Clutterbuck (15) skates by during the first period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

Carolina Hurricanes' Andrei Svechnikov (37) controls the puck against the New York Islanders during the second period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)