Leon Draisaitl and Viktor Arvidsson tallied for Edmonton. Stuart Skinner wobbled again, making 23 of 28 saves before being relieved by Calvin Pickard.

Kempe now has 14 goals and 26 points in 20 career playoff games, all of which came against Edmonton, which bounced the Kings from each of the past three postseasons.

A late goal in the second period begat an early one in the third for Edmonton again on Wednesday, this one by the former King Arvidsson. “The Little Viking” contributed a huge goal as he battled hard in front to expertly tip Brett Kulak’s shot skyward at the 4:05 mark.

From there, the Kings outright owned Edmonton, ensuring there’d be no late-game heroics like the ones from Connor McDavid and chums on Monday. McDavid, who had three primary assists and the tying goal before the Kings prevailed 6-5 in Game 1, was held scoreless Wednesday and watched as the Kings slathered on three more goals.

Arvidsson’s giveaway — he fanned on a pass deep in his own zone and had his pocket picked by Kopitar — led directly to Kempe’s goal 2:41 after Arvidsson scored, a vital insurance marker. Kopitar found Kempe zooming past the right faceoff dot for a far-side snipe, after which Kempe calmly skated to the corner, sans celebration.

They’d tack on another goal, their third on the power play, with 10:53 left in the contest. Kevin Fiala’s seam pass got past Kuzmenko at the netfront but sailed on to Kopitar for a backdoor redirect that sealed Edmonton’s fate.

For good measure, Kempe scored again, this time off the rush, 2:02 later by way of a shot that entered and exited the net instantaneously. It was a cold welcome to the game for Pickard after he’d just come on to relieve Skinner.

The Kings stretched their lead to three goals with tallies 4:14 and 10:37 into the second period before handing one back at 13:54 to take a 3-1 lead into the second intermission.

Draisaitl broke up Kuemper’s shutout, as he did in Game 1, after he found quiet ice during a puck battle that ultimately got the puck to John Klingberg. Klingberg, who was unavailable for Game 1, spotted Draisaitl cutting to the net and lofted a shot that he tipped past Kuemper. It was Draisaitl’s 19th goal in 20 postseason games against the Kings, cutting the score to 3-1 in favor of the black and silver.

To make it 3-0, the Kings had struck for a second time with the extra man, with both goals going to the player who drew the penalty.

In this case, it was Kuzmenko, producing his second man-advantage marker in as many games. Kempe’s one-timer banked off the end boards and right to Kuzmenko, who popped in the putback.