EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Los Angeles Kings' playoff hopes suffered a major blow Tuesday when they dropped a 4-2 game to the 28th-place Edmonton Oilers.

In a game they had to win, the Kings never lead. They fell behind 1-0, 2-1 and 3-1 before a late rally fell short when Edmonton scored an empty netter in the dying moments.

The Kings are trailing Calgary by two points for the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division, so with just two games left after Edmonton, a victory was crucial.

But the Oilers, just days after losing 8-2 to Los Angeles at the Staples Center, were set and determined to have their revenge.

And they got it.

After a scoreless first period, the Oilers made it 1-0 when the Kings left winger Matt Fraser alone by the side of the net, where he buried a rebound at 2:34.

Los Angeles tied it three minutes later on a power-play goal from defenseman Jake Muzzin.

Edmonton went up 2-1 when Benoit Pouliot stripped Kings center Trevor Lewis of the puck at the Los Angeles blueline and scored on a breakaway goal at 10:09.

Tyler Pitlick extended Edmonton's lead to 3-1 at 5:31 of the third period. It was the right winger's first game since missing 41 with a spleen injury.

The Oilers thought they had things under control, but Kings defenseman Drew Doughty scored on a shot from center ice at 9:38 of the third period to make it 3-2 and suddenly the Kings came to life.

But the defending Stanley Cup champions couldn't find the equalizer.

Instead, Fraser sealed it with an empty netter.

NOTES: In a bit of a surprise move, the Kings, who played Monday night in Vancouver, started back-up G Martin Jones for just the second time in 37 games. ... Kings RW Dustin Brown played the 800th game of his NHL career. ... Edmonton was without two of its top three centers in C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (foot) and C Boyd Gordon (back) as well as three of their top six defensemen: D Andrew Ference (concussion), D Nikita Nikitin (foot) and D Mark Fayne (shoulder). ... G Richard Bachman returned to the Edmonton net after missing three games to attend his brother's funeral. ... The Kings have a 3-15 record in overtime and shootouts this season, a statistic that will haunt them all summer if they miss the playoffs. ... Oilers RW Tyer Pitlick played his first game since rupturing his spleen on New Year's Eve against the Calgary Flames.