McDavid scores 300th career goal, Skinner posts 43-save shutout as Oilers beat Kings
Edmonton captain becomes 1st player in league history to have 5 different 10-game point streaks in a season
Stuart Skinner has further cemented himself as the Edmonton Oilers' playoff goalie.
"I felt pretty good," Skinner said. "I think confidence grows as the team is doing such a good job in front of me. I think for a full 60 minutes that we just battled hard. Being able to get the two points is massive.
"We were so hungry to win every battle and I think that was very impressive to watch."
WATCH | McDavid scores 300th NHL goal:
The only other time Skinner recorded an NHL shutout was last season against San Jose, but he was sent down to the AHL the following day.
"We're not going to do the same thing we did last year," said Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft. "He's mature beyond his years. He came up with the big save at the right time.
Skinner started the season as the backup to Jack Campbell, who has struggled in the first of a five-year deal with the Oilers.
The Oilers captain also became the fifth player in league history to reach 300 goals and 500 assists before playing 600 career games. Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Peter Statsny and Bryan Trottier are the others.
Connor McDavid became the 11th-youngest player in NHL history at the time of his 300th career goal. 👏<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NHLStats?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NHLStats</a>: <a href="https://t.co/86n5y7jA5G">https://t.co/86n5y7jA5G</a> <a href="https://t.co/poUBFVgXk6">pic.twitter.com/poUBFVgXk6</a>
—@PR_NHLEvander Kane scored the other goal for Edmonton (44-23-9), which has won three in a row and gone 12-2-1 in March.
"It is one thing to talk about it, it is another thing to go out there and do it," McDavid said of his team clamping down defensively. "We talk about being defensive and playing hard and I felt you saw that tonight.
"I still felt we gave up a few chances but [Skinner] was there to bail us out. It was a really good building block."
Joonas Korpisalo made 35 saves for Los Angeles (43-22-10), which has lost two in a row on the heels of a franchise-high 12-game points streak.
"I thought it was a hell of a game, both teams played really hard and it came down to a bounce or a break or two and they were able to score," said Kings head coach Todd McLellan. "We had some real good looks and we ran into a hot goaltender and didn't quite get it over the goal line, but I thought it was a heck of game."
Draisaitl extends point streak to 11 games
Kane opened the scoring with just 52 seconds left in the first period. Leon Draisaitl made a beautiful behind-the-back spin pass to Kane, who was able to send a one-timer past Korpisalo for his 15th of the season.
Draisaitl picked up his 70th assist and extended his point scoring streak to 11 games on the play.
Drai dishes & Kane delivers 😮💨 <a href="https://t.co/aSrNpmf6lJ">pic.twitter.com/aSrNpmf6lJ</a>
—@EdmontonOilersSkinner was later able to keep the Kings off the board midway through the second period, making a big glove save on Adrian Kempe's breakaway backhand shot.
Edmonton outshot Los Angeles 27-24 through 40 minutes after a scoreless second period.
Skinner made huge saves on Vladislav Gavrikov and Viktor Arvidsson in the dying minutes and collected his 10th win in the month of March to set a franchise record for wins in a single month.
The Kings were without Gabriel Vilardi (upper body), while the Oilers were missing Ryan Murray (back), and Ryan McLeod (upper body).
The Oilers play host to the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday.
