Kings survive Game 1 collapse thanks to Phillip Danault’s heroics

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LOS ANGELES — Joy. Relief. Worry.

The Los Angeles Kings did what they needed to get done. Game 1 is in their pockets. How they scraped out a dramatic 6-5 victory Monday night over the Edmonton Oilers — in what should have been a convincing opening salvo in front of a jubilant, nervous crowd at Crypto.com Arena — doesn’t give a clear indication of where this best-of-seven series will go. The back-and-forth theatrics have begun.

The Kings were dominating. Then the game became concerning, then nail-biting, and then downright scary before Phillip Danault rescued the Kings from a potentially nightmarish result.

With Game 2 and a chance to hold serve and maintain the home ice advantage the Kings clamored for, where does this win fall after being up 4-0 and 5-2 but still unable to squeeze the life out of the Oilers?

“I would say just a good start,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said. “We didn’t like exactly how it ended. We had more than one chance to put the puck in the empty net. End the game in a less dramatic fashion, which is really what we wanted. It’s hockey. We talked about this in the lead-up to this game. It’s why we all love it. You don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. … And that’s why it’s so exciting. Guys out there playing passionately and different things can happen.

“Tonight was one of those nights where, from an entertainment perspective, you just had to hold your breath and see how it was going to finish. We played well. Bottom line, we played well and won the game. Doesn’t really matter how at this point or what fashion. A few things we’ve got to do better.”

The Kings must clean up some things before Wednesday, mainly how they handled the final 13 minutes after Kevin Fiala’s five-on-three goal briefly halted the momentum Edmonton started to build at the end of the second period. And then there is the often-futile case of containing the Connor McDavid eruption that can occur at any moment. This time, McDavid assisted on Corey Perry’s and Zach Hyman’s goals down low before bolting past Mikey Anderson and beating Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper for a shocking 5-5 tie with 1:28 left.

If Fiala, Trevor Moore or Drew Doughty had deposited the puck into an empty Edmonton net as Stuart Skinner was pulled twice for a sixth attacker, there would have been no need for dramatics. But they were necessary, and Danault — one of the most unsung Kings since he came to Los Angeles nearly four years ago as a free agent — turned into the hero.

With the game seemingly headed for overtime and a sellout crowd still reeling from the Oilers’ rally, Moore chased down a puck chipped out by Vladislav Gavrikov. Having beaten Oilers defenseman Jake Walman to it, Moore swung around and left a drop pass for the trailing Danault. A shot that resembled a floating knuckleball fooled Skinner and touched off a wild celebration.

“I got all of it,” Danault deadpanned.

No, it was not a wicked wrister. Quinton Byfield, one of the Kings’ goal scorers, called it a great shot but later described it as “a (Phil) Housley shot. It’s like a little rainbow shot.”

“I think I scored a couple of those way back,” Byfield said. “You take them how they come. That was a big goal for us.”

Danault didn’t score many this season; only eight in 80 games, his fewest over a complete NHL schedule since 2017-18 with Montreal. Offense is not his chief forte, as he’s long been a shutdown center proud of drawing tough defensive assignments. But he’s capable of putting the puck in the net; he scored a career-high 27 times in his first Kings season and followed with seasons of 18 and 17 goals.

On this night, Danault scored twice. When the Kings were rolling in the first 39 minutes of the contest, he helped build the 4-0 lead as he cashed in an Evan Bouchard turnover that Byfield helped create with his forecheck.

“Phil’s not known as a goal scorer, but what he’s done is he’s turned his two-way game into a pretty consistent, I would say 20-goal scorer at this stage of his career,” Hiller said. “So, this year, he was snakebit like no other. He had plenty of chances.

“All of a sudden, two in the first game. That’s all that matters going forward. That type of center, sometimes you sacrifice some offense. You love to see a guy get rewarded for it in a big game.”

General manager Rob Blake took the Kings through a three-year rebuild early in his tenure. One of the initial steps Blake made to move them out of that stage was signing Danault to a six-year contract in July 2021. The Kings made him their second-line center behind Anže Kopitar and fortified their roster with another responsible two-way forward.

On Monday, as Kopitar was asked about his teammate’s impact over his four seasons, Danault joked in a low tone, “Not too much.”

“Phil’s been obviously a great addition first and foremost and a huge part of this team,” Kopitar said. “He’s playing a) huge minutes, b) he’s playing on the power play. He’s killing penalties. He’s one of the best penalty killers in the league, in my opinion. He does everything that the team asks him to. He’s an ultimate guy. And he accepted the role, really.

“He knew, I’m assuming, when he signed here. He saw the vision of the team at that particular state that we were in and going forward. It took us a few years, but I think now obviously the bigger pieces are in place.”

Those additional pieces came through for the Kings. Fiala, whom they traded for in 2022, had a five-on-three goal and an assist. Deadline pickup Andrei Kuzmenko also had a power-play goal and two helpers in his first NHL playoff game. Gavrikov, in line to make a mint for his next contract, started the play that led to Danault’s late winner.

The Oilers’ comeback obfuscates some of the Kings’ positive playoff developments from Game 1. The special teams that were completely in Edmonton’s favor last year swung L.A.’s way, with two power-play goals and only two penalties taken that were effectively killed. And they put six pucks past Skinner, the Oilers’ often-beleaguered goalie.

But there’s reason to be concerned. While the Kings disrupted McDavid and Leon Draisaitl throughout the first half of the game and rendered their support players meaningless, that all changed in the third. Kuemper played like a Vezina Trophy-caliber goalie during the regular season but suddenly looked vulnerable. Even against their usually strong defensive game, McDavid showed he can still take over when the moment calls.

“A little bit scary,” Danault said. “There were ups and downs big time. Up 4-0, they come back. We know they have an offensive machine. We have to learn from this and move on. We’ll take the win and move on.”

The Kings weren’t perfect by any means, but they got the job done.

(Photo: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)

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