EDMONTON -- The Los Angeles Kings are looking very much like a team that has hit its stride heading down the stretch. Devier Posey Jersey Houston Texans . Jeff Carter had two goals and an assist as the Kings stretched their streak to seven wins in a row with a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday. Alec Martinez and Trevor Lewis also scored for the Kings (37-22-6), who are now on their longest win streak since taking nine in a row in 2010. "It feels good to feel like you are contributing on an individual level, but the most important thing is that we are winning games right now," Martinez said. "This is the crunch time of the year and we have to be playing playoff hockey. Its been good to be getting these two points consistently." Kings forward Jarret Stoll said the wins dont always have to be pretty. "Tonight wasnt our best game by any means, not even close, but we found a way and just stuck with it," he said. "We didnt really have our legs at some points, but you have to find ways to win. Dirty ways, ugly ways, whatever. Thats the biggest thing right now. We are getting timely saves from our goaltenders like we usually get and we are finding goals." Taylor Hall and Sam Gagner responded for the Oilers (22-35-8), who had a two-game winning streak snapped. Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins said that the game wasnt as one-sided as it may have seemed and his team was somewhat the victim of bad luck with two goals going in off of odd deflections. "I thought our guys were in the battle, they were sticking together, they were playing hard," he said. "There was no standing around watching them play. We made our mistakes and then they had two goals like that. The first one is a heart-breaker, its not a good way to start, it goes off a guys foot. That gets you down against a team I consider one of the best in the league." Los Angeles was all over Edmonton, outshooting the Oilers 50-27. Gagner tried to downplay the stat. "If you look at the shot differential you draw conclusions from that, but I didnt think it was as one sided as the shots suggested," Gagner said. "I thought it was one of those games where we battled against that team and we held our own physically. Were obviously not happy with the result, but we have to move forward." Kings goalie Jonathan Quick said he felt for his former teammate Ben Scrivens in the Edmonton net, but said his 46-save performance only shows the kind of goalie the Oilers acquired when they traded for him in mid-January. "He has done it all year, he did it with us too," he said "I think he is just what this team needed here in Edmonton. He consistently gives you a solid effort and a chance to win every night. We put 50 shots on him and they still had a chance at the end there. "For a few years now I think it is an area the Oilers needed improvement, not to knock the goalies they had before. The team defence could be better as well. But (Scrivens) has really stepped in since he came here and given them a chance to win every night." The Kings got off to a quick start, scoring a gift goal on the games first shot 1:36 into the contest as a Carter shot that was going wide hit the skate of defender Philip Larsen and got past a surprised Scrivens in the Oilers net. Edmonton tied the game seven-and-a-half minutes into the opening period as David Perron made a nifty no-look backhand pass to Hall, who made a move before sending a backhand shot through Quicks legs. It was Halls 22nd goal of the season and 60th point. Los Angeles outshot Edmonton 12-5 in the first period. Scrivens continued to be tested, making a huge kick save on a Marian Gaborik blast eight minutes into the second period -- the Kings 20th shot of the game. Los Angeles took the lead less than a minute later as a Martinez point shot seemed to hit something in front on its way into the Edmonton net. Carter got another odd goal midway through the second period as Scrivens blocked an Anze Kopitar shot, but the rebound caromed off of the back of Carters leg and in. It was Carters 24th goal of the season. The Kings made it 4-1 with four minutes left in the second as Carter fed a pass to a hard-charging Lewis, who fluttered a shot that Scrivens could only wave his glove at. It was just Lewis third goal in 56 games this season. The shots favoured the Kings 33-19 after 40 minutes. It was Edmontons turn to get a lucky bounce early in the third with the teams playing four players a side. Gagner tried to feed Ryan Smyth at the side of the net, but it hit defender Drew Doughty in front and went into the Kings net to make it 4-2. It was Gagners first goal in 16 games. The Kings conclude a three-game road trip in Calgary on Monday. Edmonton embarks on a four-game trip, starting in Minnesota on Tuesday. Notes: It was the third of four games this season between the Oilers and Kings. The Kings won the two previous encounters, both played in Los Angeles. The Kings held a 13-1-4 in their past 18 games against Edmonton. ... The Oilers have had their troubles against Pacific Division opponents, coming in with only four wins against them this season, two of those wins coming against Calgary. ... Los Angeles has been a very strong defensive team all season, allowing a league-low 2.05 goals per game. ... Remaining out for the Oilers was defenceman Anton Belov (partially torn oblique). The Kings had no injuries to report. Whitney Mercilus .C. -- The Charlotte Bobcats said head coach Steve Clifford underwent a successful procedure Friday to have two stents placed in his heart. Garrett Graham . Olivieri, at city hall to help kick off ticket sales for the Aug. 5-24 event to be held in four Canadian cities, said Wednesday that Canada has a new generation of talent on the rise that can make its name just as Sinclair did at the same event in 2002 in Edmonton.Jared Cowen may have been handed a two-game suspension by the NHL on Wednesday, but the Senators defenceman is not planning on changing his style of game as a result. Cowen will miss the next two contests because of his bodycheck on Zemgus Girgensons in the third period of Tuesdays game in Buffalo, in which he made primary contact with the head of the Sabres forward. Speaking to a small group of reporters on Thursday morning, Cowen said he wont change anything if that situation arises again in the future. "Ill make that same hit over and over again. Just because I had a hearing or a suspension isnt going to change it," Cowen said. "It is harder to hit small guys when youre taller. You have to get down to come through instead of just coming through because you have to change your levels. Its a little bit harder, but at the same time, Im not going to change anything." The 22-year-old defenseman insists that he was not targeting Girgensons head on the play and that if he stops playing with that physical edge, he wont be as effective on the ice. "No, I wouldnt do anything differently. If I dont make that hit, I dont play and I dont play well," Cowen added. "Maybe I move a little bit to the left an inch or two and thats the difference. Thats all that it was." "I made a lot of hits in this league before and its the first time its ever been under question. One in a thousand hits is going to be bad or whatever you want to call it. I was making the intention to make a full body contact check and I guess I got a piece of his head." Cowen was under some scrutiny a couple of weeks ago for an errant elbow that caught the head of Red Wings sstar Pavel Datsyuk, who was forced to miss several games with a concussion. Louis Nix. The Sens defenseman says the league never mentioned his past incident with Datsyuk when doling out this two-game suspension. "It was never brought up that this was in relation to that one or that Im on some sort of list now. I think theyre not related at all," Cowen explained. "The Datsyuk one was totally reactional and accidental. This one was more of a missed hit or whatever you want to call it. I hope they werent considering the Datsyuk thing at all because that wouldnt make sense." During his phone hearing with the NHL department of player safety, Cowen argued that the play was not called a penalty on the ice and that Girgensons was not even injured as a result of the hit. In fact, the young Sabres forward immediately got up from the ice and charged towards Cowen. "He didnt say anything, but obviously actions speak louder than words," Cowen said when asked about Girgensons immediate response. "So obviously he was okay, too because he came after me and he wanted to do something. But I guess he was just faking it." The timing of the suspension couldnt have been worse for Cowen, who seemed to finally find his groove in the past two or three games. The young defenceman has been plagued by an inconsistent start to the season and appeared to be turning a corner in the past week. "Playing better and feeling better physically and just getting more into the rhythm, but this shouldnt stop that at all. Its one of those things I cant control. It shouldnt hinder me when I get back out there. Just stay skating and stay in good shape." ' ' '
