Cody Ceci kept Los Angeles in front by diving to knock Curtis Lazar’s shot off the goal line after it trickled past Forsberg at 10:31.
“That was early … so obviously now we’re talking about how huge that play was,” Kopitar said. “I mean, everybody, every single guy in this locker room is putting team first and the winning mentality first, and we’re trying to win games. Whether that’s 1-0 or 7-6, it doesn’t really matter. It’s about the two points for the next week, and then we’ll go from there.”
The Kings went 2-1-0 in the season series against the Oilers, who have eliminated them in the first round of the playoffs each of the past four seasons. The loss, 8-1 at home on Feb. 26, came three days before Jim Hiller was fired as coach and replaced by Smith.
“Like I said earlier, I mean, they had their top guys out there with five minutes to go, three minutes to go,” Smith said of the February game, “and I think as an athlete, you know those kinds of things, and they kind of rubbed it in, and probably made guys play harder today.”
NOTES: Forsberg is 4-0-0 with an 0.97 goals-against average and .963 save percentage in his past four starts. … The Oilers were shut out for the fourth time this season. … Edmonton forward Max Jones left with an undisclosed injury in the first period. Coach Kris Knoblauch did not have an update on Jones’ status after the game.
