Oilers vs. Kings Game 6 Information

• Date: Thursday, May 1, 2025
• Start Time: 8:00 PM MT
• Location: Edmonton, Alberta
• Venue: Rogers Place
• Watch: CBC/SN (Canada), TBS (USA), Sling (Stream)

Projected Line Combinations

• Oilers: There wasn’t any need for line juggling on Tuesday as the Oilers dominated the Kings from start to finish. Though the 3-1 score suggests a tight match, Edmonton more than doubled Los Angeles in shots on goal. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl played the entire game together, with Corey Perry as the third forward for 11:10 at even strength and Zach Hyman for a few shifts. The Oilers got goals from the second and third lines in Game 5, as Evander Kane tied the score in the second period and Mattias Janmark put them ahead in the third. Edmonton will likely ice the same roster in Game 6, but Kris Knoblauch and Co. might shuffle players around more with the last change advantage at home.
• Kings: Even with the Oilers controlling play for virtually all of Game 5 in Los Angeles, the Kings didn’t make many in-game adjustments, rolling the same three forward lines and five defenders. The most notable change that head coach Jim Hiller made on Tuesday was using winger Adrian Kempe as a defenceman for a few shifts in the third period while the Kings were looking for the tying goal. Los Angeles’s fourth forward line was effective in limited use, drawing the penalty that led to the Kings’ only goal. Having a short bench wasn’t an issue for the Kings in Games 1 and 2, but it’s clearly worn them down as the series has gone along.

Projected Starting Goaltenders

• Oilers: Calvin Pickard has won three consecutive games since coming into the net in relief of Stuart Skinner in Game 2. He’s posted a .912 save percentage across three starts and didn’t allow a goal in the third period of any of the games. The Oilers have a goalie who’s getting hot at the right time and the team looks confident playing in front of him.
• Kings: Darcy Kuemper had his best outing of the playoffs in Game 5, turning aside 43 of the 45 shots that the Oilers threw his way. Unfortunately for the 2024-25 Vezina Trophy finalist, the Kings only managed one goal, so he ended up with a loss despite his .956 save percentage. The Kings need Kuemper to stand on his head if they’re going to come back and win this series.

Thoughts and Notes Going into Game 6

• With a win on Thursday, the Oilers will knock the Kings out in the first round of the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. Edmonton was in the same situation in 2022 that Los Angeles is in right now. They dropped Game 5 at home and had to go on the road and win Game 6 before winning the series in Game 7.
• If the Kings aren’t able to complete a comeback like the Oilers did three years ago, they’ll undoubtedly look back at their failed opportunities in Games 3 and 4 to take a stranglehold on the series. Los Angeles led in the third period of both games and they weren’t able to close the door. Mattias Janmark said after Game 5’s win that something clicked for the Oilers during their comeback in Game 4: “I felt like we started something in the third or the second part of last game, especially in OT. I felt like we found something in our game and found the upper hand. We tried not to let go of that, and we pretty much executed for 60 minutes.”
• The Oilers finished off the Kings in six games in 2023 and then in five games in 2024. They’re undefeated in potential elimination games in these playoff meetings with Los Angeles over the past three years. Despite the previous success, head coach Kris Knoblauch acknowledged that finishing a series is never easy: “The fourth win is always the toughest to get,” Knoblauch said on Wednesday before the team’s flight back to Edmonton. “We feel excited for the opportunity to do it at home in front of our fans, but we know how well LA has played us, especially through this series. They had our number through the regular season, so for us to sit back and not play our best, we’re going to be in trouble. We need an effort like we had (on Tuesday) to give us our best opportunity to win.”
• After dropping Game 1, the Oilers inserted two veterans into the lineup and they’ve both made impacts in the team’s three consecutive wins. Evander Kane didn’t suit up for a single game during the 2024-25 regular season and has two goals and three points over four games in the playoffs. John Klingberg played in only 11 games after signing with the Oilers as a free agent in January and he’s picked up two key assists playing top-four minutes in the playoffs.

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