Though the Vegas Golden Knights haven’t clinched the Pacific Division crown yet, it seems inevitable that the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings will meet in the first round of the playoffs as the second and third-placed teams.
The Kings will host the Oilers on Saturday afternoon for the first of two tune-up games between the two teams before the playoffs. Edmonton will also host Los Angeles later in the month.
1. The two games between the Oilers and Kings in April will go a long way in determining who winds up as the home team in the first round of the playoffs. L.A. is two points up on Edmonton and both teams have seven games remaining.
The Oilers have been the home team when facing the Kings in the first round of the playoffs in each of the past three years. They clinched the series at home in Game 7 in 2021-22, they beat L.A. on the road in Game 6 in 2022-23, and they finished the Kings off at home in Game 5 in 2023-24.
2. While being the home team in a playoff series has its benefits, the Oilers aren’t going to prioritize beating the Kings in the standings over getting healthy in the final few weeks of the regular season.
The team is dealing with a handful of injuries and another one was added to the pile when Leon Draisaitl left Thursday’s game against the San Jose Sharks with a lower-body injury. The Oilers will be without Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, Mattias Ekholm, and Stuart Skinner when they face the Kings on Saturday.
3. During Edmonton’s practice on Friday, Trent Frederic skated on the second forward line as the left winger with Adam Henrique down the middle and Zach Hyman on the right. According to Tony Brar of Oilers TV, either Frederic will make his Oilers debut or the team will call somebody up from the American Hockey League on an emergency basis.
The Oilers acquired Frederic from the Boston Bruins ahead of the March 7 trade deadline knowing that he wouldn’t suit up for the team until later in the season. The gritty forward suffered a lower-body injury in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in February and he hasn’t been rushed back into the lineup.
4. Calvin Pickard will make his fifth straight start for the Oilers on Saturday in Los Angeles. Since coming into last week’s game against the Dallas Stars in relief of the injured Stuart Skinner, Pickard has stopped 100 of the 111 shots he’s faced for a .901 save percentage.
He was shelled in a 6-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken the night after the Dallas game, allowing five goals on 29 shots. Pickard has been solid in three games since then, picking up wins against the Flames, Golden Knights, and Sharks.
There’s no timetable for Skinner’s return as he deals with a concussion. Pickard is 20-8-1 over 32 appearances this season with a .901 save percentage and it’s looking more and more like he could be the starting goalie when the Oilers open the playoffs later this month.
5. The Kings are 18th in the NHL with 222 goals and they’re second with 186 goals against. Their power play is among the league’s worst, scoring on only 16.5 percent of its opportunities, while their 81.5 penalty kill percentage is seventh.
6. Leading the way offensively for the Kings is Adrian Kempe with 33 goals and 63 points and ageless Wonder Anze Kopitar is right behind him with 62 points. Kevin Fiala is second on the team in goals with 29 and former Oiler Warren Foegele is third with 22 goals. Kopitar and Quinton Byfield are one goal away from reaching the 20-goal mark and Trevor Moore is close as well with 18 goals.
The Kings have their offence spread fairly evenly across three forward lines. Kopitar and Kempe have combined for 52 goals on the top line, Fiala and Byfield have 48 goals on the second line, and Foegele and Moore have chipped in 40 goals from the third line.
7. Goaltender Darcy Kuemper has been excellent for Los Angeles in his first season with the team. After being acquired from the Washington Capitals in a change-of-scenery deal involving Pirre-Luc Dubois, Kuemper has gone 27-10-7 with a .919 save percentage in 45 games for the Kings.
The Kings have been one of the league’s strongest defensive teams this season. They’re allowing the fewest shots on goal per 60 minutes at even strength and only the Florida Panthers are allowing fewer scoring chances at even strength than the Kings.
8. The home team has won both meetings between Edmonton and Los Angeles this season. The Kings battled for a 4-3 overtime victory back in December and the Oilers edged out a 1-0 win a couple of weeks later.
Nobody has been better on home ice this season than the Kings, as the team has gone 28-4-4 at Crypto dot com arena. Outside of a disastrous trip following the 4 Nations Face-Off break, the Oilers have been a solid road team this season, going 21-14-2 away from home.
