EDMONTON, Alberta — It wasn’t Cam Talbot’s night and it certainly was Zach Hyman’s game.
The Edmonton Oilers launched an attack on the Kings’ defense — led by Hyman’s hat trick — and cruised to a 7-4 victory in Game 1 of the first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series.
Hyman scored a goal in each period against the 11-year veteran goaltender, who faced 45 shots on goal — 15 in each period.
Los Angeles did not get much offense until they trailed 4-0 in the second period. Mikey Anderson and Adrian Kempe broke through in the second period.
By that time, Hyman was one goal away from his hat trick and Adam Henrique and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored on power-play opportunities.
The Oilers brought out more firepower in the third period as Leon Draisaitl and Hyman scored before Warren Foegele added an empty-netter.
The Kings’ Pierre-Luc Dubois and Trevor Moore added third-period goals.
Kings coach Jim Hiller expressed confidence in the team’s ability to bounce back after a tough loss in Game 1.
“I’m here to tell you that every time we’ve had one of those, we’ve come back with a strong effort,” Hiller said. “We’ve been through that, but we’re gonna have to be much better than we were tonight.”
Game 2 is schedule for Wednesday night in Edmonton before the series moves to Los Angeles for two games.
