Last May, the Edmonton Oilers defeated the LA Kings in Round One of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Despite coming home for Game 6 up 3-2 in the series, LA lost that night and was then shutout 2-0 in Game 7. Following their elimination, head coach Todd McLellan made a rather prophetic comment that is stuck in the minds of many almost a year later, “…I’ll finish my statement off by saying that tomorrow morning, next year starts. Based on experience, that’s going to be one, tough year.”
Since then, the Kings acquired contributors like Kevin Fiala, Vladislav Gavrikov, and Joonas Korpisalo. They have also witnessed the emergence of other individuals, such as Gabe Vilardi and Pheonix Copley. And finally, for the first time since 1994, LA has a 40-goal scorer in Adrian Kempe.
Along with all the good came plenty of unexpected challenges, as well. There were injuries to top players that saw the depth of the organization tested once again, penalty kill issues cropped up for long stretches, and a goaltending rollercoaster that nobody could have predicted lasted for most of the year. Through it all, the Kings managed to put up 104 points in the regular season. Now, it’s led to a rematch with the Edmonton Oilers, beginning with Game 1 on Monday night. The best-of-seven series will give LA an opportunity to knock off one of the hottest teams in the NHL, and also get a little revenge of their own for what took place last spring.
Hottest Rivalry in the Playoffs
No explanation is needed when saying these two teams do not like each other. All four games between LA and Edmonton this season were extremely physical, each in slightly different senses. On January 9, when the Kings defeated the Oilers 6-3 at home, there were three fights featuring Phil Danault, Sean Durzi, and Brendan Lemieux. Then, a couple of months later on March 30, Connor McDavid delivered a heavy hit on Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson that took him out of the game and out of the lineup for several weeks with an upper-body injury. LA coaches, players, and fans certainly have not forgotten about the events of that night. Just five days later in Los Angeles, the two clubs met for the final time in the regular season. It was a heavy game, with little to no room for both teams to make plays. In essence, it supports one of McLellan’s frequent comments about there being several ways to play a physical style of hockey. It doesn’t always have to be big hits and dropping the gloves that contribute to being a physical team. LA takes pride in playing a heavy game that provides few chances for their opposition. All this suggests Kings-Oilers Part II is sure to be a physical battle between a pair of teams who seem locked in as one of the hottest rivalries in the sport right now.
Keys for LA
The Kings know what they have to do in order to take down the Oilers. They’ve faced the core group enough over the past few seasons to know their style of play. How do they go about slowing down and beating the offensive juggernaut that is the Edmonton Oilers? We’ll examine three categories below:
— LA needs Gabe Vilardi and Kevin Fiala in the lineup. As two of the biggest offensive threats the team has in 1-on-1 situations, their absence down the stretch was notable. They can beat anyone from anywhere. Vilardi’s play along the boards and ability to slow the game down in the offensive zone would be a huge boost for the Kings. Fiala is undoubtably the most skilled player on the roster; capable of doing things all by himself if he has to. When he picks up speed in his own zone and enters the neutral zone, the opposition has to have a game plan to stop that. In addition, Fiala is among the best passers on the team, as well. McLellan would love to have these guys back for Monday night. Their presence on the third line creates scoring depth on all four lines and makes matchups a nightmare for opponents. Nothing has been confirmed, but either or both individuals could be ready to go for Game 1. Vilardi even participated in practiced with the larger group prior to the team departing for Edmonton on Sunday.
— The Kings starting goaltending situation is still murky. It’s an important topic because up until the final game of the regular season, there was little idea on who it would be between the pipes for game one. While many assumed it would likely be Joonas Korpisalo, both goaltenders have been excellent down the stretch, and most importantly they’ve largely given the team a chance to win every night. In 11 games with the Kings, Korpisalo went 7-3-1 with a .921 save percentage. Since joining the Kings in December (and some might say, saving the Kings season), Copley amassed a 24-6-3 record with .903 save percentage. Based on these numbers, past playoff experience, and McLellan giving Korpisalo back-to-back starts twice over the final two weeks, it looks like he will be the one in net on Monday night.
— Without a doubt, special teams will play a huge part in this series. The conversation here has to begin with the Oilers producing a season in which they had the greatest power play in NHL history; recording a goal 32% of the time they had a man-advantage. They don’t even really have a second unit because they don’t need one. Their top guys either score or typically stay on the ice for a full two minutes. Thus, LA must play disciplined hockey and stay out of the penalty box. Perhaps one positive here is the Kings have seen the Oilers power play quite a bit, so they should have a solid book and plethora of video clips on them. LA’s penalty kill improved as the year wore on, yet it’s still not great; sitting at around 76%. On the flip side, LA’s power play is top-five in the league, clicking around 25%. Will they be able to find success with the extra man? Again, with the insertion of Vilardi and/or Fiala back into the lineup, they’ll have a much greater chance at converting on those opportunities.
Game Schedule
Game 1: Monday, April 17 in Edmonton
Game 2: Wednesday, April 19 in Edmonton
Game 3: Friday, April 21 in LA
Game 4: Sunday, April 23 in LA
Game 5: Tuesday, April 25 in Edmonton
Game 6: Saturday, April 29 in LA
Game 7: Monday, May 1 in Edmonton
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UPDATED: Kings-Oilers First Round Playoff Schedule and Early Notes
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