Oilers vs. Kings Game 4 Information

• Date: Sunday, April 27, 2025
• Start Time: 7:30 PM MT
• Location: Edmonton, Alberta
• Venue: Rogers Place
• Watch: CBC/Sportsnet (Canada), TBS (USA), Sling (Stream)

Projected Line Combinations

• Oilers: Edmonton started Game 3 with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the top line together, but the dynamic duo only logged 3:49 together at even strength. McDavid spent most of the game with Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on his wings while Draisaitl, Viktor Arvidsson, and Vasily Podkolzin formed the second line. The Oilers will carry into Game 4 with those same lines, according to Bob Stauffer. Darnell Nurse and Evan Bouchard skated together at the team’s morning skate on Sunday, Jake Walman was with John Klingberg, and Brett Kulak and Ty Emberson were the third pair. Emberson played a team-low 7:52 at even strength on Friday as the Oilers operated mostly with five defenders.
• Kings: Per Zach Dooley of Kings Insider, Los Angeles had an optional morning skate on Sunday ahead of Game 4, so we don’t know for certain what changes the team will be making to their lineup after Friday’s loss. We might see some tinkering by the Kings, but they’ll ultimately be relying on the same top-nine forwards and top-four defenders who played heavily in Games 1 and 2 to beat the Oilers. When asked about the lineup on Saturday, head coach Jim Hiller said: “I’m going to give this answer again, for about the fifth time, we play the players who, in the moment, we think are going to give us the highest probability to win that game.”

Projected Starting Goaltenders

• Oilers: Calvin Pickard will get the nod again for Edmonton after picking up a win in Game 3. After coming into Game 2 in relief of Stuart Skinner, Pickard turned aside 24 of 28 shots from the Kings on Friday. All four of Los Angeles’s goals came in the first two periods, and then Pickard didn’t allow anything in the third.
• Kings: Darcy Kuemper didn’t have a great showing on Friday, allowing five goals on 34 shots in his first loss of the playoffs. The veteran has a .859 save percentage against the Oilers thus far, well below the .921 save percentage he posted in the regular season. Backup David Rittich struggled to a .886 save percentage during the regular season, so the Kings won’t be in a rush to make a switch in net.

Thoughts and Notes Going into Game 4

• The Oilers finally broke through on the power play in Game 3 after being completely shut down by the Kings’ penalty kill in Games 1 and 2 in Los Angeles. Evan Bouchard scored twice with the man advantage on Friday, putting Edmonton’s power play at 2-for-9 in the series. The Oilers still haven’t found a solution for the Kings’ power play. Los Angeles scored on both of their opportunities in Game 3 and they’ve gone 7-for-12 over three games.
• While Calvin Pickard’s performance on Friday doesn’t look great on paper, he elevated his game for the Oilers when they needed it most. He allowed four goals on 20 shots in the first two periods and turned aside all eight shots in the third, allowing Edmonton to grab the lead and hold on for the win. It was a start somewhat reminiscent of Oilers legend Grant Fuhr, who always seemed to find another level late in games when the score was tight.
• Though it isn’t technically a must-win for the Oilers, Sunday certainly feels like one. Teams that go up three games to one in a best-of-seven series have gone on to win that series 90.8 percent of the time in NHL history. If the Kings have a chance to finally take down Edmonton in Los Angeles in Game 5, it’s hard to imagine the league’s best home team missing the opportunity.

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