If familiarity breeds contempt, this Edmonton Oilers–Los Angeles King series could bring the heat.
Meeting in the first round for the third year in a row, Edmonton and Los Angeles know each other well and the Kings will be hungry for revenge after losing seven and six games in the previous two series.
And while this is probably the Kings' best version yet, as they've added piecemeal to a roster that's been building under GM Rob Blake, the Oilers should also be confident that they have the numbers of this team. Not only have they won recent playoff games, but Edmonton has also won three of four regular season games this season – all after they changed coaches in November.
“We knew how this game was going to go tonight,” Leon Draisaitl said before the most recent meeting between the two teams, a 4-1 win by Edmonton on March 28. “We did the that many times in the past two years. . We know exactly how this game is going to go and we are ready for it.”
This was not far removed from the 1982 series between Edmonton and Los Angeles, when the Oilers finished 48 points ahead of the Kings in the regular season and were the favorites. If Los Angeles takes down the Oilers in 2024, it won't happen. is a great sadness historically including a “Miracle” Win along the way.
The difference between the two teams this year was just five points in the regular season, and today's NHL is a place of far more parity and competitive balance than the Wild West of four decades ago. The Kings don't escape this before it starts by any means and have an exciting defensive game that could end in a surprising result.
But the Oilers have been the NHL's best team since mid-November, having learned all the supposed “lessons” a young team needs to experience in failure before breaking out, and with the signing of Connor With McDavid-Leon Draisaitl coming up short next year or two, it's time for this core to break through to the end.
That's why they were created, right?
As we prepare for Game 1 of this year's Los Angeles-Edmonton series on Monday night, we first dive into our preview.
Outlook for oil operators: Back in early November, we started wondering if the conversations we'd have about the Oilers in April would include the possibility of shaking up its core. Thirteen games into the season Edmonton is 3-9-1, for a dismal .269 points percentage, better only than the lowly San Jose Sharks, who, by the way, the Oilers lost. It was unbelievable to see the Oilers fall off the cliff so quickly, but we think, if any team can come back from it, it's the McDavid-Draisaitl Oilers.
Sure enough, after the coaching change on November 12, Edmonton won its first two games and from then on was the NHL's best team. Over the past five months, Edmonton was the only NHL team with a points percentage of at least .700 (.703), and they even had a chance to win the Pacific Division crown until the final week.
So they're back, just as dangerous on offense as ever and a better defensive team from top to bottom. That includes the burgeoning superstars at the top realizing the need to be present at both ends and the bottom of the squad being fairly well-stocked with a combination of grit, defensive awareness , veteran know-how and skating ability.
It's time for this group
King's outlook: Two previous playoff exits at the hands of the Oilers helped shape the Kings' roster. After a surprising seven-game shutout two years ago, they brought in Kevin Fiala for foul trouble. And after being eliminated again last year after six games, they added Cam Talbot, Pierre-Luc Dubois (with mixed results) and re-signed defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov on time.
While Blake has generally done a good job building this team through both the draft and trade markets, they have yet to advance in these three years, finishing with 99, 104, and 99 points. And while this squad has many offensively gifted players such as Fiala, Adrian Kempe, Viktor Arvidsson and the emerging Quinton Byfield, their team style is defined by their defensive and suffocating 1-3-1 system .
The Kings allow an average of 28 shots per game — fifth best in the league and ahead of only the Oilers — and, according to Natural Stat Trick, allow the fourth-fewest high-danger chances this season. Their penalty kill, which will certainly be tested by Edmonton's power play, is second-best in the league.
“They weren't really acting; they just hit the puck and sit back the whole game,” Nikita Zadorov told our Iain MacIntyre after the Kings-Canucks game in March. 'Their goal is not to play hockey and not let the other team play hockey hockey, pretty much.”
That may not be the best TV viewing, but sometimes that style can help a less talented team make the playoffs. Now, doing that with the Oilers, who have two of the best players in the game and know the Kings well, would be a monumental task. However, as they say, defense wins championships and the Kings will be determined to get back at their playoff foe.
ADVANCED STATISTICS
(Total 5 vs 5 via natural stat trick)
REGULAR SEASON TEAM STATISTICS
X-Factor oiler: If you want to be a difference-making striker in the playoffs (and you're not an alien talent like McDavid), your skill set ideally includes the ability to score goals, physical play and generally having “that dog in you.” For the Oilers, it could be Evander Kane, the team's leader in scoring this regular season, who also scored 24 goals.
You're just not always confident about the version of Kane you'll get. Two years ago, he scored 13 goals in 15 playoff games, but last year he only scored 3 goals in 12 games. And in the second series against Vegas, Kane did not score a goal and recorded only one assist in the final game.
But if the formula against a neutral-zone-congested Kings team is to attack it, chase it and attack Drew Doughty as often as possible, then Kane is exactly the type of player who can lead that attack.
He's been injured a bit this season, but Kane could be a capable player for the Oilers in their biggest moments. While the opposition must obsess over how to cover McDavid and Draisaitl, there are plenty of opportunities for Kane to become a true X-Factor in this series.
The King's X Factor: Even though the Kings were swept in six games by Edmonton last spring, we have to remember that it almost could have gone the other way. The Kings trailed 2-1 in the series and even led 3-0 after a stretch in Game 4 when they could have put the Oilers to bed. Edmonton won that game in OT and did not drop another game in the series.
So what can the Kings get this year that they didn't get last year? If Dubois decides to be a factor then maybe, but we're looking at Byfield more as Los Angeles' X-Factor. The Kings were really patient with the 2020 second overall pick and were rewarded with a breakout 20-goal, 55-point season. Playing a tight defensive game in the playoffs is great, but you still need to score timely goals to actually be able to win and a young, 6-foot-5, 225-pound winger above is a good candidate to provide that. However, it should be noted that Byfield did not enter the playoffs on such a high note. Although this was his best season, Byfield went scoreless in nine consecutive games and went scoreless in 19 games before recording a goal and an assist in the final. concluded on Thursday.
