WINNIPEG

Kings creep back into playoff picture as Gaborik, Carter lead LA's 8-2 rout of Oilers

Greg Beacham The Associated Press
Published Friday, April 3, 2015 10:08AM CST

Los Angeles Kings right wing Dustin Brown, left, watches the puck, next to Edmonton Oilers center Anton Lander, of Sweden, during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, April 2, 2015, in Los Angeles. The Kings won 8-2. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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LOS ANGELES -- Marian Gaborik and Jeff Carter scored two goals apiece, and the Los Angeles Kings moved up in the playoff chase with an 8-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.

Drew Doughty and captain Dustin Brown ended lengthy goal-scoring droughts in the first period to kick off the Kings' highest-scoring performance in a half-decade. They added three third-period goals against Edmonton goalie Tyler Bunz, who made his NHL debut.

Jordan Nolan also ended a long goal drought as the defending Stanley Cup champions pulled even with Winnipeg for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Los Angeles also moved one point behind Calgary for third place in the Pacific Division.

Los Angeles hadn't scored eight goals in a game since April 1, 2010, against Vancouver.

Robyn Regehr also scored for Los Angeles, while Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams had two assists apiece. Gaborik had three points and Jonathan Quick made 28 saves in a romp past the 28th-place Oilers, who gave up 13 goals in back-to-back games in Southern California.

Teddy Purcell and Jordan Eberle scored for the Oilers, who played awful team defence for long stretches of their 11th loss in 16 games.

Former Kings goalie Ben Scrivens yielded five goals on 21 shots before Bunz stepped in for the third period. Bunz was a backup goalie in the ECHL before getting the emergency call to replace Richard Bachman, who is away due to a death in the family.

Bunz gave up goals to Regehr and Gaborik 22 seconds apart before Carter capped the barrage with his 28th.

After two losses to close their five-game East Coast road trip, the Kings are in danger of missing the post-season after winning 10 playoff rounds and two Stanley Cup titles in the previous three seasons.

But after this blowout win over the hapless Oilers, the Kings still control their own fate heading into the final nine days. Los Angeles has a game in hand on the third-place Flames, and the clubs meet in Calgary on Feb. 9.

Brown started the scoring with his first goal in six weeks, ending a 19-game drought since Feb. 18. Doughty then snapped his 24-game drought since Feb. 7 with a long shot past Scrivens.

After Gaborik added his 24th goal to put the Kings up 3-0 in the first period, Nolan snapped his 20-game drought since Feb. 16.

Gaborik secured the eighth 25-goal season of his NHL career in the third period.

Jarret Stoll returned from a nine-game injury absence for the Kings, picking up an assist on Brown's opening goal. Stoll's return meant Mike Richards was a healthy scratch for the first time in his NHL career. Richards is scoreless in five games since the $69 million centre's high-profile demotion to the AHL.