LOS ANGELES _ Todd McLellan would rather not remember his first time coaching against the NHL's arguably most dynamic duo.
At the helm of the Edmonton Oilers for most of the previous four seasons, McLellan helped cultivate the coming-of-age for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the NHL's two leading scorers by a wide margin this season. In his first game coaching the Los Angeles Kings this October, McLellan found out how little fun it can be facing the two, who combined for six points in the Kings' season-opening loss in Edmonton.
"They're a pair that, you can't give them anything," McLellan said this week. "Because they'll take advantage of it _ and that's impossible."
Thursday night was a different experience. Exactly one year and one day removed from his firing in Edmonton, McLellan and the Kings knocked off his old team 5-1 at Staples Center by following a simple, unexpected formula: Their top lines outdueled Edmonton's usually unstoppable pair.
Often, McDavid and Draisitl were picking the puck out of their net Thursday night, matching their season-worsts with minus-two and minus-three ratings, respectively. On their first shift, Kings winger Tyler Toffoli came screaming down the left-hand boards before burying a wrist shot high on Oilers' goalie Mike Smith's glove side.
Later in the first, McDavid, Draisaitl, and linemate Zack Kassian were pinned in their own end. Kings defenseman Drew Doughty made a strong pinch at the blue line to send the puck behind the net, forward Dustin Brown circled the cage and found Kopitar crashing near the top of the circle, and Kopitar blasted a one-timer into the upper corner.
With 2.5 seconds left in the opening frame, the Kings struck against McDavid and Draisaitl again. A Toffoli turnover sprung the Kings through the neutral zone, leading to a Carl Grundstrom shot that Smith _ who was pulled after stopping just nine of 12 shots in the opening period _ spilled in the slot for Jeff Carter to whack home.
McDavid wasn't kept quiet all night. In the opening minute of the second, the Oilers' captain picked the puck off Kings defenseman Ben Hutton's stick in the offensive zone and beat goalie Jonathan Quick � who earned his fourth-straight win with a 25-save effort � on a breakaway.
After that, the Kings stiffened again. A combination of Kopitar's line, Carter's line, and even the young trio of Blake Lizotte, Austin Wagner and Adrian Kempe kept the Oilers' explosive duet off the scoresheet the rest of the night. Meanwhile, Kings' fourth-line center Michael Amadio tacked on to his team's late in the second before the team's power-play finally broke through in the third with Toffoli's second goal of the night. Toffoli, Carter and Doughty all finished with three points.
Thursday's win was the Kings' fourth-straight on home ice (their longest-such streak since the end of the 2017-18 season) and pulled them within six points of the Western Conference's second wild-card spot. Moreover, it was a reminder that, when the Kings are at their best, the gulf between McLellan's current squad (still in last place) and former club (still in first place) might not be as wide as the standings would suggest.
