Oilers, Kings on Collision Course Yet Again

The Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings face off in another potential playoff preview.

Jon Alfano | Apr 5, 2025

Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid tries to find a loose puck in front of Los Angeles Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper. / Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

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The Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings just can't seem to get enough of each other, apparently.

These two Pacific Division rivals have met in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the past three years, with Edmonton winning in seven games in 2022, six games in 2023 and five games in 2024.

With less than two weeks remaining in the regular season, they seem set for a fourth-straight postseason meeting. Los Angeles sits at second in the division with 95 points (43-23-9), and closely behind is Edmonton in third with 93 points (44-26-5). The Vegas Golden Knights lead the division with 98 points (45-22-8).

Before the playoffs begin, though, they'll have some time to re-familiarize themselves, starting with Saturday's game at Crypto.com Arena.

This game could very well decide who gets home-ice advantage in the first round. That's especially true for Los Angeles, as it can take a four-point lead in the standings with six games to go. The Kings have been the road team in each of the prior three playoff meetings, and with the league's best home record this season at 28-4-4, home-ice advantage could make a huge difference.

Both teams are coming into this game on three-game winning streaks, but there's a big difference between them. The Kings are relatively healthy, with only a couple of minor injuries to bottom-six forwards. The Oilers, on the other hand, are incredibly banged up, with Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, Mattias Ekholm and Stuart Skinner all out.

This isn't even the final meeting between the two teams, as they'll meet again in Edmonton on April 14. The season series is currently knotted up at one win apiece, with the Kings winning 4-3 in Los Angeles on Dec. 28 and the Oilers winning 1-0 in Edmonton on Jan. 13.

While the Kings and Oilers meeting for the fourth-straight season shows the flaws of the current playoff system, there's no doubt that these two teams do not like each other. This game, as well as any for the rest of the season, will be full of intensity.

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Published Apr 5, 2025

JON ALFANO

Jon is a lead writer for Baltimore Ravens On SI and contributes to other sites around the network as well. The Tampa native previously worked with sites such as ClutchPoints and GiveMeSport and earned his journalism degree at the University of Central Florida.