Kings vs. Oilers: First-round scouting report, prediction ...Middle East

SERIES SCHEDULE

(Best-of-seven, all times PT)

Game 1: Monday, at Crypto.com Arena, 7 p.m. (FDSNW)

Game 2: Wednesday, at Crypto.com Arena, 7 p.m. (FDSNSC)

Game 3: Friday, at Rogers Place in Edmonton, 7 p.m. (FDSNSC)

Game 4: Sun., April 27, at Rogers Place in Edmonton, 6:30 p.m. (FDSNW)

*Game 5: Tuesday, April 29, at Crypto.com Arena, time TBD (TV TBD)

*Game 6: Thursday, May 1, at Rogers Place in Edmonton, time TBD (TV TBD)

*Game 7: Saturday, May 3, at Crypto.com Arena, time TBD (TV TBD)

* –if necessary

HEAD-TO-HEAD

The Kings won the regular-season series, 3-1-0 (Oilers 1-2-1)

Dec. 28: Kings 4, Oilers 3 (OT), at Crypto.com Arena

Jan 13: Oilers 1, Kings 0, at Edmonton

April 5: Kings 3, Oilers 0, at Crypto.com Arena

April 14: Kings 5, Oilers 0, at Edmonton

TALE OF THE TAPE

Oilers (regular-season rank) … category … Kings (regular-season rank)

48-29-5, 101 points … Season record … 48-25-9, 105 points

3.16 (11th) … Goals per game… 3.04 (14th)

2.87 (14th) … Goals-against per game … 2.48 (2nd)

26.3% (4th) … Power-play Pct. … 22.6% (12th)

78.2% (16th) … Penalty-kill Pct. … 81.4% (8th)

+23 (11th) … Goal Differential … +44 (6th)

89.7% (19th)  … Save Pct. … 90.8%( 5th)

50.9%  (12th) … Faceoff Pct. … 50.6% (14th)

FORWARDS

The Kings and Oilers have reconfigured a bit up front, though the key figures remain the same in this the fourth consecutive first-round meeting between the rivals, after Edmonton won the previous three. They even swapped two forwards in free agency, with Viktor Arvidsson signing a two-year deal with Edmonton and Warren Foegele heading to the Kings for three seasons. Arvidsson has been a solid contributor as the Oilers have managed a plethora of late-season injuries while Foegele has been an integral two-way player all year. The big guns for Edmonton, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, have missed time down the stretch. But that didn’t stop Draisaitl, whose 52 goals led the league, from being No. 1 on plenty of ballots for the Hart Trophy, the league’ MVP award that Draisaitl has won once before and McDavid has captured three times. They’re two of several Oilers in questionable health, including Evander Kane, who’s set to return after missing the entire regular season. Even a dormant Kane can be dangerous: He has 12 goals and 16 points in 18 Kings-Oilers postseason clashes. For the Kings, Anže Kopitar and Adrian Kempe have a new cohort in deadline-pickup Andrei Kuzmenko, while the line of Quinton Byfield, Kevin Fiala and Alex Laferriere has emerged as a force. Since Jan. 16, Fiala and Byfield rank Nos. 1 and 2 in scoring on the team, while Laferriere has a +11 rating. The only thing preventing Laferriere’s from being a team-best rating is that the trio of Foegele, Phillip Danault and Trevor Moore has been so effective defensively. EDGE: OILERS

DEFENSEMEN

The Kings will have their full array of components on the blue line for the series whereas the Oilers will be without arguably their best all-around defenseman, Mattias Ekholm. That wasn’t always the case for the Kings, who played most of the season sans Drew Doughty. Vladislav Gavrikov manned his off side and formed a ruthlessly effective pairing with Mikey Anderson. Without their perennial leader in time on ice, the Kings demanded more from their other defensemen and, by and large, they delivered. The Kings remain an elite shot suppression team and one that’s very tough to rally past once they have a lead. Without Ekholm, the Oilers will lean heavily on the gifted but often flighty Evan Bouchard as well as Darnell Nurse. The latter’s playoff struggles are well-documented, and Nurse narrowly escaped being suspended for Monday’s Game 1 after a dirty cross-check on a prone Byfield only got him banned for the meaningless regular-season finale. EDGE: KINGS

GOALIES

Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard posted a sub-.900 save percentage this season and while they’ve been adequate, goaltending is not exactly a strength of Edmonton’s. That was also true of the Kings in prior matchups, however this season trade acquisition Darcy Kuemper may well be a Vezina Trophy finalist. The 34-year-old, who won the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2022, posted the lowest goals-against average (2.00) and most shutouts (five) of his career. He was voted the team’s MVP by the local media and has been called “the backbone” of the club repeatedly by the coaching staff this season. EDGE: KINGS

SPECIAL TEAMS

The Kings had tremendous regular-season success on the penalty kill last year and a solid performance on the power play two years ago, only to lose the special-teams battle lopsidedly last postseason. They effectively allowed Edmonton to get goals from over half their man-advantage opportunities while scoring no power-play goals themselves. That led them to revamp the PK, going to a heavier-pressure system that also made them more dangerous shorthanded. The Oilers’ power play set a single-season record for conversion rate two years ago and while it remained a top-five unit again this year, it was not outright intimidating. The Kings’ power play struggled for much of the season, especially on the road, but all things offense have come up levels for the Kings since the March 7 trade deadline. Even with the Kings’ new-look penalty kill and improved power play, Edmonton gets the benefit of the doubt thanks to their utter dominance in last year’s series. EDGE: OILERS

COACHES

No NHL coach has won more home games since Jim Hiller took the helm for the Kings, with he and D.J. Smith keeping the energy light and fluid in the Kings’ dressing room. Both coaches have been popular with players and the team’s hot finish (17-5-0) left it in a position to exceed preseason expectations. Nevertheless, Kris Knoblauch proved last year that he could win the high-stakes pots, having stewarded the Oilers all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers. EDGE: OILERS

SERIES PREDICTION

Though the Kings set various franchise marks this season – they tied for the most points and wins in franchise history while accumulating the most home wins in team lore – everything resets in the postseason. Between having home ice for the first time in four years and the Oilers’ myriad health concerns, there would be no better moment for the Kings to take a heavy swing at the team that’s bullied them out of three straight Stanley Cup Playoffs. KINGS IN SEVEN

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