If it seemed like these regular season matchups were a little more tenacious than usual, it’s because they were. The Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers are turning their head-to-heads into a bonafide rivalry, thanks to a gritty first-round playoff series last year that saw Edmonton move on.
The matchup is set for a second straight year, with the second-place Oilers getting home ice advantage against the third-place Kings. It’s bound to be one of the bloodiest playoff matchups, but also chock-full of dazzle, courtesy of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Here’s what to expect from the round one tilt between the Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings.
Related: Sportsnaut’s NHL power rankings heading into the Stanley Cup Playoffs
By the numbers: Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers
The second-place Oilers finished the season with a 50-23-9 record, which added up to 109 points and an impressive plus-65 goal differential. They finished the campaign on an insanely high note, winning nine straight contests and going 9-0-1 in their final 10 appearances. Their last game of the season was a 5-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks.
Los Angeles, meanwhile, collected a 47-25-10 record, which equalled 104 points and a plus-23 goal differential. They’re headed into their playoff series after going 5-5-0 in their final 10 games, and ending with a 5-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.
According to NHL.com, “the teams split their four regular-season games, the Kings winning 3-1 in Edmonton on Nov. 16 and 6-3 in Los Angeles on Jan. 9. The Oilers won 2-0 at home on March 30 and 3-1 in Los Angeles on April 4.”
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Edmonton Oilers dynamic duo
It’s almost impossible to talk about the Edmonton Oilers without mentioning the dynamic duo, quite possibly the biggest offensive threat in the league: Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. McDavid, for his part, offered the strongest offensive campaign the NHL has seen in decades, all but guaranteeing himself the Hart Trophy.
The Oilers’ captain looks to the playoff matchup having ended the season with 153 points (64 goals, 89 assists). Leon Draisaitl had 128 points (52 goals, 76 assists) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a career year, ending with 104 points (37 goals, 67 assists). NHL.com notes that this “was the first time three teammates scored at least 100 points in a season since Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and Ron Francis did so with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995-96.”
Conversely, the Kings only had one point-per-game player on the roster, as Kevin Fiala scored 73 points in 69 games. Anze Kopitar led the team in points with 74 in 82 games. Clearly, offense is a challenge for the Kings, whereas it comes in spades for the Oilers.
Goaltending major question for Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers
Both the Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers face similar issues heading into their playoff series: goaltending is a huge question mark for both clubs. The Kings dealt longtime netminder Jonathan Quick ahead of the trade deadline, opting to run with newly-acquired goalie Joonas Korpisalo and prospect Phoenix Copley, who’s play won him starting duties, for the remaining of the season. Copley ended with a 24-6-3 record, which came with a 2.64 GAA and .903 save percentage in 35 games–24 of which were starts. Korpisalo, in turn, went 6-3-1 in ten games with the Kings, totalling a 2.03 GAA and .926 save percentage.
In Edmonton, Stuart Skinner and Jack Campbell both had spells of struggle but, ultimately, Skinner emerged as the starter. He ended the season with a 29-14-5 record, a 2.75 GAA, and a .914 save percentage in 50 games. But, it’s important to note that his stats skyrocketed at the end of the season, as they spent the first half looking less-than-ideal.
Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers NHL Playoff history
This series marks the ninth time the Oilers and Kings have met in a playoff series. Edmonton has the advantage, victors of six of the eight series–including the last four straight. In last season’s playoff tilt, Los Angeles took Edmonton to seven games in the Western Conference First Round, but ultimately last. Edmonton would go on to be swept by the Colorado Avalanche (the eventual Stanley Cup winners) in the third round.
After missing the playoffs for ten straight seasons, the Oilers are in a playoff position for the fourth straight season and fifth time in the past seven seasons. Los Angeles, meanwhile, are in the postseason for the second straight year, after missing three straight years. They most recently won the Stanley Cup in 2014.
Oilers-Kings prediction: Oilers in 6.
The 2023 NHL Playoffs begin Monday, April 17.