Have you heard? The Edmonton Oilers will play the Los Angeles Kings on Monday for Game 1 of the playoffs.
This is the fourth consecutive season that the two teams have played in the first round, with the Oilers winning all three of those previous matchups. 
In last week’s Throwback Thursday, we looked at the playoff matchups between the Oilers and Kings in the 1980s and 1990s. This edition will look at the three series between the two teams in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Let’s dig in!

2021-22 postseason

In Connor McDavid’s sophomore season in 2016-17, the Oilers made it to the second round after defeating the San Jose Sharks. They nearly made it to the Conference Finals, but Ryan Kesler decided to hold Cam Talbot’s pad.
That was the highest peak of the McDavid era for a while. The 2017-18 season saw them fall 17 points shy of the final wild card, before finishing second last in the Western Conference the next year (11 points out). Thanks Peter Chiarelli.
Thankfully, Chiarelli was fired, and Ken Holland was brought in, thus, the Oilers returned to the playoffs. Well, they would have if not for the pandemic, with the Oilers playing in the qualifying round, they fell in four games in a best-of-five against the Chicago Blackhawks. In the 2020-21 All-Canadian division, they were swept at the hands of the Jets.
Through six seasons of McDavid’s career, he had just one series win. That changed in 2022 in a first-round matchup against the Kings.
Game 1 was on May 2, 2022, in Edmonton. Trevor Moore opened the scoring for the Kings, with Alex Iafallo adding a goal to make it 2-0. Before the end of the first round, McDavid cut the lead in half. L.A.’s Brendan Lemieux scored about four minutes into the first period, but the Oilers tied the game thanks to goals from Kailer Yamamoto and Leon Draisaitl. Phillip Danault scored with just over five minutes left in the game to give the Kings a 1-0 series lead.
The Oilers got their first win in Game 2, not just shutting out the Kings, but doing it in emphatic fashion. Draisaitl opened the scoring early in the second period, with Darnell Nurse and Ryan McLeod also scoring in that period for a 3-0 lead heading into the third. Evander Kane scored twice, Jesse Puljujärvi scored once, as the Oilers defeated the Kings 6-0.
Game 3 was another blowout for the Oilers, as they put four past Jonathan Quick and four past Cal Petersen in an 8-2 victory. Draisaitl scored one, Kane picked up a hat trick, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each scored twice, as Mike Smith saved 44 of 46 shots.
The Kings had a shutout of their own in Game 4, defeating the Oilers 4-0. Moore and Troy Stecher each scored one, and Carl Grundström scored twice. Heading into the third period of Game 5, the Kings had a 3-1 lead. McDavid scored his second of the postseason, the Kings made it 4-2, and Draisaitl scored twice before the end of the game to send the pivotal Game 5 into overtime. Unfortunately, Adrian Kempe found the game-winner to put the Oilers on the brink.
Early in the first period of Game 6 in Los Angeles, McDavid scored his third of the postseason. Kane added one early in the second period, but Sean Durzi cut the lead in half. The game was tied early in the third period thanks to Grundström’s goal, but Tyson Barrie scored the game-winner with just over five minutes left, with Kane adding his second of the game.
That set up a winner-takes-all Game 7 back in Edmonton. Mr. Game 7 himself, Cody Ceci, opened the scoring for the Oilers with just under seven minutes left in the second period. With just minutes left in the game, McDavid scored one of his most memorable goals of his career to send the Oilers to the second round of the postseason.
The Oilers played the Calgary Flames in the second round. They fell 9-6 in the first game, but won the remaining four games, including an overtime goal from McDavid, to clinch a berth in the Western Conference final for the first time since 2006. Unfortunately, they were swept by the hands of the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Colorado Avalanche.

2022-23 postseason

In the first round of the 2023 postseason, the Oilers faced the Kings in the first round for the second consecutive postseason. Once again, the Kings won Game 1, as the Oilers blew a 2-0 lead and a 3-1 lead. Anže Kopitar found the game-tying goal with 17 seconds left in the game, and Alex Iafallo won it in overtime.
Thankfully, the Oilers responded with a win of their own in Game 2. Derek Ryan opened the scoring early in the game, followed by Draisaitl’s third of the postseason about 10 minutes later. The second period was all the Kings, though, as Danault and Gabriel Vilardi each scored to tie the game heading into the third. Early in the final frame, Klim Kostin scored the game-winning goal, with Kane scoring the empty-netter with just 23 seconds left.
The series shifted to L.A. for Game 3. With 33 seconds left in the first, Iafallo opened the scoring. However, McDavid scored two goals in a minute and 40 seconds to take the 2-1 lead, which lasted 18 seconds before Kempe tied it up. The game stood this way until Moore’s overtime goal. There was some controversy, though, as the puck was clearly touched with a high stick shortly before the goal.
In Game 4, the Kings jumped out to a 3-0 lead with goals from Vilardi, Viktor Arvidsson, and Kopitar. The Oilers got their act together in the second period, with Evan Bouchard scoring once and Draisaitl twice. Kings’ defenceman Matt Roy broke the 3-3 deadlock in the third period, but Kane scored the game-tying goal with 3:02 left in the game. Zach Hyman scored the overtime winner to tie the series at two.
The series shifted back to Edmonton for Game 5. After the first period, the Oilers led 3-2, but pulled away in the second period as Nick Bjugstad and Hyman scored to make it a 5-2 game. Bjugstad scored his second of the game early in the third, and Quinton Byfield added a goal for the Kings in the 6-3 loss.
Edmonton had a chance to clinch the series in L.A., and they did just that. McDavid opened the scoring, with Durzi tying the game. Kostin scored his second of the series before the end of the period to put the Oilers up 2-1. In the second, Draisaitl scored his seventh of the postseason, with Kempre and Kevin Fiala each scoring to tie the game. 
The Oilers answered with Kostin’s third of the postseason to make it a 4-3 game heading into the third. Danault scored shorthanded to tie the game up, but Yamamoto scored the series-clinching goal with just over three minutes left in the game.
For the second consecutive postseason, the Oilers fell to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions as they lost in six games to the Vegas Golden Knights in round two.

2023-24 postseason

That brings us to last year’s postseason. In a change of pace, the Oilers won Game 1, as they scored seven on former Oiler Cam Talbot. Hyman and Adam Henrique scored in the first period. Hyman added a second while Nugent-Hopkins scored to make it a 4-0 game. The Kings cut into that lead thanks to goals from Mikey Anderson and Kempe, but Draisaitl scored early in the third, and Hyman scored for the hat trick to make it 6-2. L.A. added two more, with Warren Foegele icing the game with an empty-netter.
The Kings’ only win came in Game 2, with Kempe opening the scoring early in the game, and then he added a second one. Brett Kulak cut the lead in half, but Drew Doughty scored with just under two minutes left to give the Kings a 3-1 lead heading into the second. The Oilers fought back in the middle frame, as Dylan Holloway and Hyman scored to tie the game at three. Early in the third, Fiala scored for the Kings, but that was answered quickly by Holloway. The Kings won the game in overtime thanks to an early goal by Kopitar.
Edmonton took a 2-1 series lead with a 6-1 win in Game 3. Hyman, Draisaitl, and McDavid scored in the first period. The Kings got one of their own from Doughty, but that was followed by Kane’s first of the postseason. In the third period, Hyman and Draisaitl each added a second goal as Stuart Skinner stopped 27 of 28 shots.
From high-scoring to barely any scoring at all, Game 4 was also won by the Oilers by a score of 1-0. Bouchard scored a power-play goal midway through the second period. Skinner stopped all 33 shots he faced in what felt like the Kings’ last gasp to win the series.
In the decisive Game 5, Kane opened the scoring midway through the first, but Alex Laferriere tied it with 28 seconds left on the clock. Blake Lizzote gave the Kings the lead in the second, with Draisaitl scoring twice and Hyman once to give the Oilers a 4-2 lead. Late in the third, Kempe scored his fourth of the postseason to cut the Oilers’ lead to one, but it wasn’t enough.
As you know, the Oilers proceeded to defeat the Vancouver Canucks in seven games, and then the Dallas Stars in six games for their first Stanley Cup Final since 2006. After falling down 3-0 in the series, the Oilers stormed back to force Game 7, where they fell 2-1. They’ll be looking to avenge their loss this postseason, and it all starts with a first-round matchup against the Kings.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. They can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.