Oilers Win Game 3: Kings’ Failed Challenge Potentially Flips Series

The Edmonton Oilers may have saved their season — and flipped their first-round series — in the blink of an eye Friday night. A wild game that included 11 goals, power-play daggers, and a risky coaching challenge that ultimately failed, the Oilers are right back in it.

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The Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 7-4 in a near must-win Game 3 to cut the Kings’ series lead to 2-1, but it was the failed goalie interference challenge that truly swung momentum. With the score tied 4-4 late in the third period, Evander Kane jammed home a rebound. The officials reviewed the goal to ensure it wasn’t kicked in. After confirming Kane hit the puck with his stick after the kick, Kings coach Jim Hiller rolled the dice, challenging for goalie interference, knowing full well the risk if he was wrong. The goal stood after review, and the Oilers cashed in just 10 seconds into the resulting power play when Evan Bouchard redirected home the go-ahead marker.

It’s unclear what the Kings thought they saw, or if they were simply hoping the uncertainty that comes with coaching challenges would work in their favor. It didn’t. That was the beginning of the end.

Did the Kings Give the Oilers the Boost They Needed?

Perhaps the only thing that hasn’t happened in these three games is the kind of fighting that took place between the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens, notably between Josh Anderson and Tom Wilson. This series has had pretty much everything else.

Three heated games have already produced 30 goals, and this sequence felt like it was par for the course. The Oilers needed a moment that would swing things. When it wasn’t their miraculous comeback in Game 1, something else had to happen to give the team life after an abysmal Game 2 performance. The Oilers came out strong on home ice, but it was Kane’s massive goal after a year off and the Kings’ inexplicable decision to challenge that may have been the tide-turner.

Edmonton fed off the emotional lift, adding two empty-netters to seal the win. Kings’ head coach Jim Hiller defended his decision afterward, saying the Kings had a good look at the video and believed it was interference. But as former NHL referee Tim Peel pointed out, having an experienced eye in the video room might have made all the difference. Instead, Hiller’s gamble backfired in the most devastating way.

Game Scoring Summary

It capped off a gritty, aggressive effort from the Oilers, who opened the scoring for the first time this series with an early Ryan Nugent-Hopkins strike. Bouchard, who’s faced pressure to elevate his playoff game, delivered in a big way with two power-play goals. Meanwhile, Kane — playing just his second game after nearly a year off — came through with a clutch, season-saving goal, showing exactly why the Oilers stuck with him despite his long layoff. Connor McDavid and Connor Brown scored the two empty-net goals.

Calvin Pickard, making his first playoff start over a struggling Stuart Skinner, gave the Oilers just enough in net, stopping 25 of 29 shots. Edmonton’s relentless forecheck and physical play clearly rattled the Kings, early, but the Kings battled back to tie the game 2-2. They took the lead 3-2 on a Drew Doughty goal, then again when it was 4-3.

Playoff hockey is a game of inches and, in this case, gambles. On Friday night, the Oilers made the Kings pay dearly for what appears to be a terrible decision. Now, instead of facing a 3-0 series deficit, Edmonton is back in the fight — and the momentum will have officially swung their way if they can take Game 4 and go back to Los Angeles tied in the series.

Game 4 goes Sunday night at Rogers Place.

Next: Will the Oilers Move on From Stuart Skinner This Offseason?