Kings remain winless, fall to Oilers on Frozen Frenzy

LOS ANGELES — On the fourth annual Frozen Frenzy, when all 32 NHL teams take the ice across 16 games in one night, the Los Angeles Kings had an opportunity to earn their first win of the season against a Pacific Division rival on home ice.

Instead, Los Angeles fell to the Edmonton Oilers, 4-1, on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena, extending its losing streak to five games to open the Peter Laviolette era.

"It's just not good enough right now," forward Trevor Moore said postgame. "We gotta figure it out."

Connor McDavid led the way for Edmonton (5-0-1), recording four points with three assists and a goal. The 29-year-old superstar improved his career totals against the Kings to 51 points, including 20 goals and 31 assists in 38 games. He leads the NHL with 17 points and has recorded multiple points in five of Edmonton's six games this season. Laviolette offered praise to McDavid after the game, calling him a "world-class player."

The Oilers overwhelmed Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper in the opening period, scoring three goals on just seven shots. Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring by poking the puck past Kuemper from the bottom of the left faceoff circle after defenseman Cody Ceci left his coverage to account for a surging McDavid. Vasily Podkolzin doubled Edmonton's lead a minute later before McDavid split two Los Angeles defenders on a breakaway and beat Kuemper with a backhand to make it 3-0 in the first. 

Brandt Clarke got Los Angeles on the board in the second period with his first goal of the season. Coming off the bench, the defenseman fired a shot through traffic that bounced behind Edmonton goaltender Devon Levi. Since allowing seven goals on 22 shots against Vancouver on Oct. 1, Levi has surrendered just four goals on 91 shots, posting a .956 save percentage over his last three starts.

Despite entering Tuesday's matchup without a win, the Kings had remained confident they could turn promising stretches into a complete 60-minute effort. Kuemper's recent play had provided reason for optimism, as the veteran had stopped 58 of his previous 62 shots before facing Edmonton.

However, Kuemper's third consecutive start ended after the rough opening period. Anton Forsberg replaced him for the final two periods and stopped all nine shots he faced.

Beyond the difficult opening frame, the box score revealed another concern for Los Angeles: its inability to turn offensive pressure into goals. 

The Kings outshot Edmonton 40-17, including 18 shots on goal in the second period alone. Moore detailed how the issue comes down to execution, not bad luck.

"Puck luck doesn't matter at this point," Moore said. "We gotta finish."

Head coach Peter Laviolette echoed that sentiment, emphasizing the need to capitalize on scoring chances.

"I feel like we had more than enough looks tonight," Laviolette said. "It's gotta find its way to the back of the net."

Los Angeles also struggled on special teams, going 0-for-4 on the power play and dropping to a 16.7% conversion rate for the season. The inability to capitalize on the man advantage compounded the Kings' offensive struggles after Edmonton's three-goal opening period.

With just two points through five games and 11 consecutive losses dating back to last season, Los Angeles continues to search for answers as frustration builds.

"We all wanna win so badly," Clarke said. "It's frustrating it's not going our way."

The Kings will return to the ice Saturday night when they host the Boston Bruins in Los Angeles before beginning a five-game road trip.