McDavid and Levi steal the show as Edmonton Oilers steal win from L.A. Kings

If the Edmonton Oilers wrote the formula for Tuesday’s game on paper, people would have laughed out loud and bet everything they had on the L.A. Kings.

“Ride Connor McDavid for 20 minutes, then spend the last two periods on the ropes while leaving everything up to goaltender Devon Levi.”

There’s no way that works.

Except it did. The second-best team on the ice somehow managed to escape with a 4-1 decision at Crypto.com Arena.

The Oilers were being outshot 40-16, but whether or not they deserved to win doesn’t matter — there is no room for a story on the scoreboard. So, thanks to the captain and the goalie, the Oilers swept their three-game California road trip after wins in Anaheim (5-2) and San Jose (3-1) and improved to 5-0-1 on the season.

This was a two-man show, though. McDavid marked the occasion of his 800th NHL game with a showcase of a first period, laying the foundation for Edmonton’s win with a goal and two assists. He set up Leon Draisaitl at 7:16, set up Vasily Podkolzin at 8:16 and scored on a breakaway, courtesy of a three-zone lob pass from Ty Emberson, at 15:48.

That gave the Oilers a 3-0 lead at the first intermission and after that it was just a matter of getting it to the finish line.

Instead of pulling away, however, they let the Kings back in the fight. Once again, the lulls Edmonton has fallen into this year, the non-event hockey where they spend most of a period on the robes, resurfaced in this one. They were outshot 18-5 in the middle frame and 26-9 over the final 40 minutes.

They’d have been in serious trouble if not for goaltender Levi, who sits a perfect 4-0 on the season. His 39 saves are a new career high.

The last hope L.A. had for a third-period comeback died when Podkolzin scored into an empty net (from McDavid, of course) with 2:18 left in the game.

After playing fire wagon hockey to open the season, scoring 14 and giving up 13, the Oilers are slamming the door on their own net — just five goals against in their last four games.

The outburst from McDavid gives him 1,237 points in his first 800 games, which is second only to Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.