Leon Draisaitl suffers a setback with the Oilers. © APA / SEAN M. HAFFEY

Oilers suffer a setback at the start of the playoffs

A goal by NHL top scorer Leon Draisaitl could not prevent the Edmonton Oilers' opening defeat in the playoffs.

22 April 2025

From: dpa

The National Hockey League's best forward did manage to reduce the deficit to 5-6 in what ended up being a wild 1-4 loss to the Los Angeles Kings and then set up Connor McDavid's late goal to tie the game at 5-5, but he couldn't prevent the series' opening defeat against their rivals from California. The Kings scored the winning goal with 42 seconds left, and it was Philip Danault's second goal of the night.

For Draisaitl, it was his first appearance since April 3, when he sustained an injury in the regular season. The Oilers and Kings are meeting for the fourth consecutive time in the first round of the NHL playoffs. The Canadian team has prevailed in each of the past three years. A team must win four games to advance.

The second matchup is also in Los Angeles, followed by two games in Edmonton. Draisaitl reached the Stanley Cup Finals with Edmonton last season, but narrowly lost to the Florida Panthers.