Kings Have Golden Opportunity in Front of Them

The Los Angeles Kings must strike while the iron is hot.

Mar 22, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; The Los Angeles Kings celebrate after scoring against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

No move in the NHL truly happens in a vacuum, and in this case, that's a good thing for the Los Angeles Kings.

Edmonton Oilers superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, both of whom have already missed time due to injury, will reportedly miss the team's three games this week. While that's obviously bad news for the Oilers, it's good news for the Kings, who are directly competing with their Pacific Division rivals.

Obviously, no team roots for opposing players to suffer injuries, but it's impossible to ignore how much of an impact McDavid and Draisaitl's absences will affect Edmonton's performance as a team. The two former MVPs have scored nearly a third of the Oilers' goals this season (75 out of 229), and the percentage of goals they've factored in on is even higher.

Granted, the Oilers played fairly well in their first full game without both of them, defeating the Seattle Kraken 5-4 on Sunday. The question is how long they will be able to maintain this level of play, especially with tougher competition on the horizon - they play the Dallas Stars on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Kings are one of the hottest teams in the league right now, boasting an 8-1-1 record in their past 10 games and coming off back-to-back 7-2 wins over the weekend. Now, they have a great opportunity to not only keep that hot streak going, but gain some ground in the Pacific Division race.

The Kings have to play some tough games this week, facing the New York Rangers on Tuesday, the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday before wrapping up the week against the San Jose Sharks on Sunday. However, three of those four games - the game against Colorado being the exception - are at Crypto.com Arena, where Los Angeles boasts the league's best home record at 25-3-4.

The Kings have been virtually unbeatable on home ice this season, and haven't lost a home game in regulation since Jan. 20. The best part? Nine of their final 13 games are at home, so they have a real chance to climb up the standings.

Speaking of the standings, the Kings and Oilers are currently tied for second in the division at 87 points, though Los Angeles has a game in hand. The first-place Vegas Golden Knights sit at 92 points.

The Kings have played the Oilers in the first round three years in a row, falling each time. While they're likely headed for a fourth-straight meeting, it would help for Los Angeles to be the home team this time, especially with how well they've played there this season.

Who knows? With the way they're playing, the Kings may have a chance to catch the Golden Knights for the division lead.

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