Finally, for the first time this season, Los Angeles is set to take on their biggest rival of the past few years in the Edmonton Oilers.
Anybody even half paying attention to hockey at this point already knows the key storyline: Four straight first-round matchups in the playoffs; four straight losses for LA.
While it’s far too early to make any predictions — there’s still half the regular season to play, plus likely roster changes on both sides at the Trade Deadline in March — a fifth straight meeting for game 83 in April is very much a possibility.
However, that’s looking out way too far. Immediately ahead tonight, coach Jim Hiller’s group will need to keep fighting for points to bank toward the Pacific Division race. Over the past six weeks, the team has lost ground; and if it wasn’t for weaker performances from the teams around them, they’d be in real trouble. The Kings are still hanging tough at the moment, and that’s something to cling to.
Unfortunately, though, they’re coming off a rather embarrassing loss in Winnipeg last night and will need to get back on track quickly. Yes, the Kings are still down several key players up front, but that can’t be used as an excuse. Last night’s lineup featured their No. 1 goaltender in net and the same six defensemen they usually dress.
Considering what took place last night, and the fact this is their first meeting with the Oilers, it should be assumed the Kings will come out hungry tonight.
The recipe for success is pretty simple: stop Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard, and you’ll give yourself a good shot. Unfortunately, that’s much easier said than done. At times, the Kings have been dominated by that trio over the last three seasons, especially when the Oilers find themselves on the power play.
Conversely, the Kings have to find ways to score more goals. They’ve been hard to come by all season, and with a reconfigured roster at the moment, it’s going to take some heroic efforts from depth guys to bring home a win.
Last night, Hiller mixed things around a bit, moving around his top-6 wingers. One thing of note was the usage of Adrian Kempe. He started the night mostly playing with Alex Laferriere and Jeff Malott. Later in the game, Hiller reunited the big Swede with Quinton Byfield, likely in an attempt to rekindle some of their previous magic. We’ll assume more of that is probably in store tonight.
The only real question heading into this contest is whether Hiller will elect to go back to Darcy Kuemper, after he was mercifully pulled before the third period last night. An argument could be made either way — go back to Kuemper or use Anton Forsberg following his brief appearance for 20 minutes vs. the Jets.
Here’s how the fans voted:
Statistically Speaking
— Kempe has eight goals and 10 assists in 31 career regular-season games against the Oilers.
— Los Angeles went 3-1-0 against Edmonton in the regular season last year.
— This season, the Kings are 0-4-3 in the first game of a back-to-back set, but are 4-1-1 in the second game of the back-to-back.
— Tonight marks the first meeting between the two clubs this season, before meeting again on February 26 and April 11 in Los Angeles to conclude the regular season matchups.
— Using data from Hockey Stat Cards, Brandt Clarke was among the best in the league last week:
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To say there’s been a lot of storylines throughout the Kings 2025-26 season would be an understatement. During last night’s Kings Of The Podcast, a full forensic review of the team was conducted. Think of it as a State of the Franchise. Check it out…
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Oilers
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Foegele – Byfield – Ward
Malott – Laferriere – Kempe
Fiala – Turcotte – Kuzmenko
Lee – Helenius
Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci
Moverare
Kuemper (starter)
Forsberg
Likely scratches: (F) Guttman and (D) N/A
Injured: Armia, Kopitar (both day-to-day)
Injured Reserve: Moore
Non-Roster Status: Perry
How to Watch the Game
Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm Pacific Time and will be televised by FanDuel Sports. Additionally, a Kings radio feed is available on the ESPN LA app.
Across the Ice
Edmonton is coming off a 4-3 victory over Winnipeg on Thursday. Here’s how they lined up in that matchup:
Nugent-Hopkins – McDavid – Hyman
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Kapanen
Howard – Roslovic – Savoie
Janmark – Lazar – Frederic
Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Stastney
Stillman – Emberson
Pickard
On This Day in Kings History
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