What was once a best-of-seven series between the Kings and Oilers is now a best-of-three. With things now tied at two wins apiece, the most pivotal game of the season is set to take place tonight in Downtown Los Angeles. The Kings will be back where they play at their best, Crypto.com Arena, but this time they’ll be taking the ice after likely asking themselves ‘what if?’ repeatedly over the last 72 hours.
It could easily be argued the Kings should be up 3-1 in the series or even be at home resting for Round 2. Among the myriad of stats that could be used to illustrate just how dominant LA has been thus far (in terms of overall play), they have been ahead for over 174 minutes of the first four games played — that’s more than any other team in the playoffs through four games. By contrast, the Oilers have only held a lead for 29:26. And somehow, things are tied 2-2.
Just to belabor this point a little further, the Kings have held a third-period lead in all four games of this series and only came away with victories twice. Additionally, two times the Kings have lost despite scoring three goals, a mark they went 41-0-2 in when reaching during the regular season. Unfortunately, at times, the Kings appear to have taken their foot off the gas in hopes of defending a late lead, and it has ultimately backfired each time.
That’s where this Kings team is at going into tonight. It becomes mental now more than anything. They probably feel they deserve to be up in the series, but they’re not. Will they be able to overcome this adversity and reach the top of the mountain?
Mandatory Pregame Listening
Mayor’s Minutes will air on NHL Network radio today!
Statistically Speaking
— Goaltender Darcy Kuemper played a career-high 78:14 minutes in Game 4 on Sunday, six minutes more than his previous best in Game 4 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals with the Colorado Avalanche. His 44 saves in that game marked his third-highest total across both regular-season and postseason competition, trailing only a pair of 49-save efforts as a member of the Arizona Coyotes in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs vs. Nashville and vs. Colorado.
— More Kuemper: It was announced Monday that he is a finalist for the Vezina trophy. It’s a well-earned achievement for Kuemper, who had a bounce back regular season and revitalized his career. He gives the Kings a chance to win every single night and has largely been up to the task in these playoffs, especially in Game 4.
— Sunday in Edmonton, forward Trevor Moore tallied his second goal in as many games for his fourth point (2G, 2A) of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This stretch by Moore marks his best postseason-opening performance since 2022, when he posted five points (2G, 3A) in the Kings’ first four games.
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Oilers
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Kuzmenko – Kopitar – Kempe
Fiala – Byfield – Laferriere
Foegele – Danault – Moore
Malott – Helenius – Turcotte *
Anderson – Doughty
Gavrikov – Spence *
Edmundson – Clarke
Kuemper (starter)
Rittich
* unconfirmed
Likely scratches: (F) Lewis, Thomas and (D) Burroughs, Moverare
Injured: Jeannot, not skating yet, officially week-to-week (initially reported as out for extended time period)
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm Pacific Time and will be televised locally by FanDuel Sports Network. Additionally, a Kings radio feed is available on the ESPN LA app (which is the new home for Kings radio this season, they’ve moved off of the iHeart platform).
More on the ongoing TV situation here.
For those live in attendance, the LA Kings Booster Club will offer their popular ‘Puck for a Buck’ contest — featuring Mikey Anderson for this game. Just $1 could win you an autographed puck from an NHL star. Visit their table outside sections 317-318 on the upper concourse for more information. They’re also raffling off a team-signed guitar — details here:
Across the Ice
Here’s how Edmonton lined up last time out:
EDM lineup vs. LA – Game 4:
RNH – McDavid – Hyman
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Arvidsson
Kane – Henrique – Brown
Frederic – Janmark – Perry
Nurse – Bouchard
Walman – Klingberg
Kulak – Emberson
Pickard
Skinner#Oilers
— Tony Brar(@TonyBrarOTV) April 28, 2025
On This Day in Kings History
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