January 15, 2025 by Eric Friesen

Connor McDavid made history on his 28th birthday by scoring the game-winning goal with just 1:13 remaining in the second period to lift the Edmonton Oilers to a hard-fought 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings at Rogers Place on Monday night.

It was McDavid’s 72nd career NHL game-winning goal, matching Glenn Anderson for the most in franchise history. Additionally, McDavid has the most game-winning goals in the NHL since he entered the league in 2015-16.

McDavid also became only the seventh player in NHL history to score the only goal of a 1-0 game on his birthday and the first Oiler to score a game-winning goal at home on his birthday. The Oilers captain now has three goals and seven points in five career games on his birthday in his NHL career.

It wasn’t the prettiest win by any means, but but they got the job done. And there’s likely no team in the league that has a better understanding of what it takes to beat the Kings (especially in the playoffs), than the Oilers.

“It’s always that way against Los Angeles,” McDavid told Oilers TV following the game on Monday. “It’s always that kind of grinding way, low-scoring, kind of low-event hockey. We know how to play these games with them. I though we maybe beat them at their own game today, playing patient, finding a way to get one, and holding on for a win.”

After tallying only two goals in his previous 14 contests, McDavid couldn’t have picked a better time to find the back of the net. With the two sides playing 4-on-4 hockey, Leon Draisaitl won a race to the puck against Kings’ forward Trevor Moore before dishing a backhand pass to Darnell Nurse for a one-timer from the hashmarks. Though Darcy Kuemper made a huge save on Nurse’s blast, McDavid struck from a sharp angle for the only game’s only goal.

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In what was likely the most important game of the season for the Oilers between two of the league’s hottest teams, Edmonton earned a crucial two points with a regulation win over Los Angeles. With the victory, the Oilers, who have won 11 of their last 12 home games, moved four points ahead of the Kings in the Pacific Division standings. They are also just four points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for the top spot in the division, conference and league.