League-worst Oilers stun playoff-bound Kings 4-3 in shootout behind Dubnyk’s 52 saves

NHL-worst Oilers stun Kings for 3rd straight win

LOS ANGELES — Rookie Devan Dubnyk made 52 saves and denied the Kings’ last two shootout attempts, leading the league-worst Edmonton Oilers past playoff-bound Los Angeles 4-3 Saturday.

Tom Gilbert had a short-handed goal and two assists for the Oilers, who have won three straight near the close of their worst season since 1994. Edmonton blew a three-goal lead in the third period against the playoff-bound Kings, but Ryan Potulny and Shawn Horcoff scored in the shootout.

Michal Handzus scored the tying goal with 2:34 left in regulation and connected again in the shootout for the Kings, who hurt their chances of finishing fifth in the Western Conference heading into their first postseason since 2002.

Mike Comrie scored two early goals as the Oilers spoiled the Kings’ home finale, making the most of their meager scoring chances. With just its second win in the past 23 road games, Edmonton snapped a 10-game winless streak on the road since Feb. 11, when the Oilers beat the Kings in another shootout.

Captain Dustin Brown and Jarret Stoll also scored third-period goals for the Kings, who took a season-high 55 shots during the most discouraging loss in a 3-3-3 skid as they head back to the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Struggling goalie Jonathan Quick made 13 saves and couldn’t make a shootout stop while failing in his eighth straight attempt to win his 40th game.

The Kings could have finished in fifth place in the Western Conference by winning their final two games, but this loss to the NHL’s worst team opened the door for Detroit to clinch the No. 5 spot with a victory at Chicago on Sunday. Los Angeles, which finishes the season at Colorado, could slip all the way to seventh behind Nashville.

Comrie got both of his goals in the first two periods on long passes up the middle of the ice, beating Quick for his 11th and 12th scores. Los Angeles otherwise dominated play, generating 39 shots in the first two periods, but had few great scoring chances against Dubnyk.

The Staples Center crowd booed its team when Gilbert scored just his fifth goal of the season early in the third period on a stoppable shot that somehow eluded Quick, whose shakiness is a major source of concern for the Kings heading into the postseason.

Brown ended Dubnyk’s bid for his first career shutout with an easy rebound goal on the Kings’ 46th shot with 13:21 to play, and Stoll fired a shot over Dubnyk’s glove for his 15th goal 5½ minutes later.

After Los Angeles took two penalties and killed off the ensuing two-man disadvantage, Rob Scuderi’s shot from the point hit Edmonton’s Jason Strudwick and fell to Handzus. His blind backhand shot slipped underneath Dubnyk for his 20th goal on the Kings’ 52nd shot, matching their season high.

NOTES: The Kings went to a shootout in a franchise-record fourth straight game. … Gilbert has three goals in nine games after scoring just two in his first 72. … Edmonton can match the 1993-94 club’s 64 points with a win at Anaheim on Sunday night, though the 1994 club didn’t have the benefit of shootout and points from overtime losses. … C Jeff Halpern returned to the Kings’ lineup after missing three games with an upper-body injury.