Draisaitl scores in OT as the Oilers beat the Kings 4-3 in Game 4 to tie series

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Leon Draisaitl scored on a power play at 18:18 of overtime and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 on Sunday night in Game 4 to tie the first-round playoff series.

After assisting on Edmonton's first three goals, Draisaitl beat goalie Darcy Kuemper after the puck found him on the right side off a scramble. The Oilers got the power play when defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov tripped Connor McDavid.

Edmonton defenseman Evan Bouchard tied it with 29 seconds left and goalie Calvin Pickard off for an extra attacker, beating Kuemper with a straightaway slap shot from near the blue line.

Bouchard had his second straight two-goal game, also pulling the Oilers within one at 7:51 of the third with a shot that deflected in off Kings defenseman Drew Doughty’s skate. Bouchard had the go-ahead goal Friday night in Edmonton’s 7-4 home victory.

“That’s our identity in here. We’ve built that years ago. It’s a mentality that we have, that we’re never going to quit, no matter what,” Draisaitl said. “We’ve shown that in the series so far, maybe a little bit too much. We’ve got to find a way to play with a lead.

“It shows a lot of character, and we can be really proud of that. But you don’t want to do that every night.”

Game 5 is Tuesday night in Los Angeles. The Kings haven’t won a playoff series since beating the New York Rangers in 2014 to win the Stanley Cup.

“I thought we skated a lot better tonight than we did in Game 3 and had plenty of opportunities to put it away. And did not,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “So, here we are. We go home 2-2 instead. They get a power play in overtime, those are tough.”

Corey Perry also scored for Edmonton, and Pickard stopped 38 shots.

Trevor Moore, Warren Foegele and Kevin Fiala scored for the Kings, and Kuemper made 44 saves — 17 in overtime.

“Of course it’s painful, but that’s playoffs though,” Kings forward Phillip Danault said. “It’s 2-2, it’s back to even. Now we go back home and play hard, put our heart on the line and anything can happen.”

Fiala made it 3-1 on a breakaway at 7:32 of the second.

Moore opened the scoring with 9:25 left in the first. He foiled a hard-around along the right boards, got the puck back from Danault, skated toward the goal and beat Pickard with a wrist shot.

Foegele gave Los Angeles a 2-0 lead on determined rush at 1:31 of the second period. Perry got one back for Edmonton on a power play at 4:11, batting the puck out of the air just below the crossbar and swatting it in as it fell.

“I would like to have a better start,” said McDavid, who had two assists. I don’t want to have to keep digging ourselves out of two, three, four-goal leads. But it is good that we’ve shown them that we can. We’re a tough group to close out in games. We’ve got some good players that make plays coming down the stretch.”

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Los Angeles Kings' Brandt Clarke (92) is knocked down by Edmonton Oilers' Zach Hyman (18) during the first period of Game 4 in an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Edmonton, Alberta, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings' Alex Laferriere (14) falls while being pressured by Edmonton Oilers' Mattias Janmark (13) and Viktor Arvidsson (33) during the first period of Game 4 in an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Edmonton, Alberta, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings' Trevor Moore, right, celebrates a goal against the Edmonton Oilers with teammates during the first period of Game 4 in an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Edmonton, Alberta, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper (35) makes the save as Vladislav Gavrikov (84) and Edmonton Oilers' Corey Perry (90) reach for the rebound during the second period of an NHL playoff game in Edmonton on Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings' Adrian Kempe (9) trips up Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl (29) during the second period of an NHL playoff game in Edmonton on Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings' goalie Darcy Kuemper (35) makes a save against the Edmonton Oilers during the second period of an NHL playoff game in Edmonton on Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Los Angeles Kings' Mikey Anderson (44), Kevin Fiala (22), Alex Laferriere (14) and Quinton Byfield (55) celebrate a goal against the Edmonton Oilers during the second period of an NHL playoff game in Edmonton on Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Corey Perry (90) celebrates a goal against the Los Angeles Kings during the second period of an NHL playoff game in Edmonton on Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Evan Bouchard (2), Zach Hyman (18) and Corey Perry (90) celebrate a goal against the Los Angeles Kings during the third period of an NHL playoff game in Edmonton on Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers players celebrate a goal against the Los Angeles Kings during the third period of an NHL playoff game in Edmonton on Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers players celebrate the win over the Los Angeles Kings during an overtime of an NHL playoff game in Edmonton on Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Corey Perry (90), Leon Draisaitl (29) and Evan Bouchard (2) celebrate the game-winning goal against the Los Angeles Kings in an overtime of an NHL playoff gamen in Edmonton on Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers players celebrate a goal against the Los Angeles Kings during an overtime of an NHL playoff gamen in Edmonton on Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)