The Edmonton Oilers need to be better in virtually every aspect of their game if they want to even up this series.
They need to be much better defensively. They allowed 14 high-danger chances in Game 1.
Their power play was 0-2 and they only had two shots on goal.
Their penalty kill was 60 percent.
Offensively, they had eight shots on goal through 38 minutes.
Their goalie needs to make an extra save or two.
Their intensity and battle level weren’t acceptable until late in the second period.
The Oilers have enough skill to win this series, but they need consistency in their will, desire and execution. Trailing in a series is nothing new for this group. In the Connor McDavid/Leon Draisaitl era the Oilers are now 3-10 in Games 1 of a seven games series. They are 5-4 in Games 2 after losing Game 1, but two of those victories came against the Kings in 2022 and 2023.
They can use the experience of the past to help them, but unless they execute better tonight and avoid a sluggish start that included going 16 minutes and 53 seconds without a shot on goal, they will fly home down 0-2. The Oilers found momentum in the third period, and they will try to carry that into tonight. But I’m not a huge believer that you can carry momentum from one game to the next. In the playoffs, momentum can change instantly with a big hit, deft pass, great shot, a big save, a key penalty kill or a timely power play goal.
LA was in complete control of Game 1, leading 4-0, until the Oilers scored late in the second period. Then the Oilers scored early in the third period, and it was game on. The Oilers can’t dig themselves that big of a hole again tonight and expect to win. They need a better start, and I’d like to see Kris Knoblauch keep Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on separate lines for more than the first 15 minutes of the game. Loading them up when you trail only 1-0 is too early. It is also a sign that none of the lines are going, and all four lines and six defenders need to enter tonight with playoff intensity.
Apr 21, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; LA Kings right wing Adrian Kempe (9) celebrates with left wing Andrei Kuzmenko (96) and defenseman Drew Doughty (8) after scoring a goal against the Edmonton Oilers in the second period of game one of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

SNAPSHOTS…

— Game 1 was the fourth time in Oilers history that they tied a playoff game in the final two minutes. However, they ended up losing all four games. The first three were in OT, while the last game ended in regulation.
  • 1984: G2, R2 v. CGY. Wayne Gretzky tying goal. Oilers won the series in 7.
  • 2001: G3, R1 v. DAL. Rem Murray tied the game, but the Oilers lost the series in 6.
  • 2017: G4, R2 v. ANA. Drake Caggiula tied it, and the Oilers ended up losing in 7.
  • 2025: G1, R1 @ LA. Connor McDavid tied the game. Series outcome TBD.
— In Game 1, McDavid scored four points. It is the sixth four-point game of his career in his 75th playoff game. That moves him into a tie with Maurice Richard (132 GP), Guy Lafleur (128) and Mike Bossy (129) for seventh-most games with 4+ points. Wayne Gretzky leads with 26, followed by Jari Kurri and Mark Messier (11), Paul Coffey (9), Mario Lemieux (8) and Leon Draisaitl (7).
Oilers fans have been incredibly spoiled by being able to witness many of the great offensive players in NHL history on a nightly basis. Oilers players with 4+ point games include Gretzky with 20, Kurri and Messier (10), Draisaitl (7), McDavid (6), Coffey and Glenn Anderson (5) and Bernie Nicholls, Joe Murphy, Kent Nilsson, Craig Simpson, Esa Tikkanen, Ryan Smyth, Mark Letestu, Zach Hyman and Evan Bouchard with one.
A total of 72 times an Oilers players scored 4+ points. The next closest is Montreal with 57, Boston with 51 and Detroit with 36.
Draisaitl’s seven games with 4+ points are more than Seattle and Winnipeg (0), Minnesota, Nashville, Columbus (1), Ottawa (2), Vegas (3), Florida (4) and Anaheim, Carolina, San Jose and Vancouver (6) have in their franchise histories.
— McDavid had four points in Game 1, giving him 40 points in only 19 playoff games against LA.
He is the eighth player in NHL history to score 40 points against one franchise in the playoffs. And he only needed 19 games. Impressive.
  • Gretzky 43 pts in 19 GP v. WPG/ARI (2.26 pts/GP).
  • McDavid 40 pts in 19 GP v. LA (2.11 pts/G).
  • Gretzky 74 pts in 37 GP v. CGY (2.00 pts/G).
  • Mario Lemieux 50 pts in 29 GP v. WSH (1.72 pts/G).
  • Norm Ullman 46 pts in 32 GP v. CHI (1.44 pts/G).
  • Messier 42 pts in 30 GP v. LA (1.40 pts/G).
  • Jaromir Jagr 52 pts in 42 GP v. WSH (1.23 pts/G).
  • Steve Yzerman 40 pts in 35 GP v. STL (1.14 pts/G).
  • Gordie Howe 53 pts in 55 GP v. TOR (0.96 pts/G).
  • Howe 46 pts in 49 GP v. MTL (0.94 pts/G).
— Evander Kane will play his first game since June 10th tonight. He’ll be on a line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman. Kane on the second line and Trent Frederic on the third line with Adam Henrique and Connor Brown gives the Oilers two shift disturbers on their middle-two lines. Frederic looked a bit tentative on Monday, and I wonder how much of that was getting over the mental hurdle of his high ankle sprain being good to go. Getting through that game without a setback should help him.
Kane should have no mental hurdle. He has spoken often about how he has no pain when he skates, unlike most of last year. I expect him to come out flying.
— John Klingberg will also dress. He is a much better puck mover than Josh Brown. I assume he’ll play more than the 4:54 that Brown played. However, Klingberg will have to show more than he did in the regular season if he wants to play more than 7-9 minutes.
— The Kings only played three lines in Game 1. Their fourth line of Alex Turcotte (4:13 TOI), Samuel Helenius (3:46) and Jeff Malott 3:45) barely played. They played very little despite the Kings leading for 56:25. The game was tied for only 3:35.
— The Oilers and Kings each relied heavily on four defenders. I’ve seen some express concern about the Oilers’ blue line and their TOI, but LA wasn’t much different.
Oilers                                       Kings
Bouchard 28:20                    Doughty 26:09
Nurse 25:17                            Anderson 25:44
Kulak 24:58                           Edmundson 20:56
Walman 19:35                       Gavrikov 19:38
Emberson 13:10                    Clarke 11:29
Brown 4:54                             Spence 6:40
Here are the splits in TOI.
PP: LA defenders logged 4:23 and EDM 4:16
PK: LA had 8:00 and EDM 14:18
5×5: LA had 93:10 and EDM 94:43 (defenders come out of the penalty box and remain on ice, so for a few moments, EDM had three defenders on).
EV/EN: LA had 4:57 and EDM 4:57
Oilers’ blueliners were on the ice for a combined 116:14 while LA’s D-men logged 113:46.
Will Klingberg change it that much? I don’t think so.

LINEUPS…

Oilers

Draisaitl – McDavid – Perry
Kane – RNH –Hyman
Frederic – Henrique – Brown
Podkolzin – Janmark – Arvidsson
Nurse – Bouchard
Kulak – Emberson
Walman – Klingberg
S. Skinner
Kris Knoblauch will load up his top line to start the game. I get it, as it gives them a good chance to get the lead, and force LA to open things up more. However, I still feel the Oilers are better when those two are on separate lines. Last year in the series, they played a total of 8:54 together at 5×5.  McDavid played 72 minutes without Draisaitl. Draisaitl played 67 minutes without McDavid. They won in five games. They crushed LA on the power play. Knoblauch wants the lead, and maybe he feels that with the return of Kane and Frederic, the rest of his lineup can chip in.
He also has a lefty-righty on each pair to start the game. I still think Bouchard, Nurse, Kulak and Walman will play the most minutes, but I see the point of starting with L-R. Klingberg’s play will determine how long they stick with these pairs.

Kings

Kuzmenko – Kopitar – Kempe
Fiala – Byfield – Laferriere
Foegele –Danault – Moore
Malott – Helenius – TurcotteAnderson – Doughty
Gavrikov – Spence
Edmundson – ClarkeKuemper
No lineup changes for the Kings. Hiller used Danault’s line along with the Doughty-Anderson pairing and Danault outscored him 2-0 at 5×5. LA will look for that matchup again tonight, which means RNH’s line and Henrique’s line will face Kopitar and Byfield’s lines. It will be interesting to see if Knoblauch sticks with McDavid-Draisaitl the entire game.

TONIGHT…

GAME DAY PREDICTION: I know the Oilers came back from an 0-2 deficit against San Jose in 2017, but those situations are rare. Oilers need a win and find one 3-2.
OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: McDavid continues to terrorize the Kings and picks up another two points.
NOT-SO-OBVIOUS GAME DAY PREDICTION: Oilers don’t allow a PP goal.