Edmonton Oilers vs Los Angeles Kings Series Predictions and Best Bets

by Ryan Cobbett - 4/16/2025

For the fourth consecutive season, the Los Angeles Kings will be taking on the Edmonton Oilers in the First-Round of the playoffs. The Oilers have won each of the previous three postseason series between these two and will look to make it four in a row this season. The Kings dominated the regular season series against the Oilers as they went 3-1 with a +8-goal differential while also shutting Edmonton out twice. The intensity is heating up as these two teams have already squared off twice over the two weeks ahead of this postseason matchup.

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Team Summaries

The Los Angeles Kings just narrowly missed out on finishing in the top spot in the Pacific Division as they are currently just three points behind Vegas with one game remaining. Still, the Kings put together an incredible 105-point season and they have been the best home team in the league this season, going 31-5-4 in front of their fans. They rank 13th in the league in scoring (3.06 GF/G), but their real strength is their goaltending which ranks second in the league as they are allowing just 2.44 GA/G. The Kings have multiple threats offensively as they have seven players who have recorded 18 or more goals this season and two who have scored 35. Adrian Kempe is one of those two and he also leads the team in points with 73. The other is Kevin Fiala who has 60 points on the year while leading the way with 14 power play scores. Sandwiched between Kempe and Fiala is Anze Kopitar who had an incredible season as the veteran missed just one game and tallied 67 points. Darcy Kuemper quietly had an elite season for Los Angeles as he allowed just 2.02 GA/G across 50 appearances. He posted a 31-11-7 record and has a .922 SV% on the year. His backup, David Rittich, was reliable as well allowing just 2.77 GA/G across 33 appearances.

As for Edmonton, they currently have 99 points on the year and they have locked up the final guaranteed spot in the Pacific Division, with one game remaining on their schedule. Their 35 regulation wins is the lowest amount of any of the 12 teams who have managed a guaranteed spot. The Oilers rank just outside the Top 10 in scoring as their 3.16 GF/G average is the 11th best in the league. Their goaltending hasn’t been as dominant as it was towards the end of last regular season, and they rank just 15th in GA/G (2.90). Despite missing a significant amount of time, Leon Draisaitl had an incredible season. He has a league best 52 goals on the season and has 106 points. Connor McDavid has 99 points despite only playing in 66 games this season and his 73 assists are tied for the third most in the NHL. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman took significant steps backwards as the two combined for just 47 goals and 93 points this season after combining for 72 goals and 144 points last season. Stuart Skinner allowed 2.87 GA/G this season through 50 appearances and posted a .894 SV% while Calvin Pickard allowed 2.71 GA/G on a .900 SV% this season.

Goalie Matchup

Kuemper will enjoy having home ice advantage in this one as the netminder allowed just 1.67 GA/G in his 25 home starts, posting a 20-3-2 record and an elite .935 SV%. He also started all four games against Edmonton this season and allowed just four goals on 100 shot attempts and posted a 3-1 record against them. As for his playoff experience, this will be his first return to the playoffs since the 2021/22 season. He has allowed 2.72 GA/G across 34 postseason appearances.

Skinner will likely be the Oilers starting netminder to begin the series, but he may have the shortest leash of all playoff goalies. His home and away splits were not significantly different, but he did post a losing record on the road this season (9-10-2). He did pick up two starts against the Kings this season and he allowed just 1.95 GA/G on a .932 SV% in those games. This will be Skinner’s third career playoffs, and he has allowed 2.83 GA/G across 35 starts.

Skaters to Watch

Los Angeles Kings:

Kempe has five points (1g, 4a) in his four games against Edmonton this season. He also posted a +/- rating of +23 on home ice this season.
Quinton Byfield has recorded 65% of his goals and 67% of his points at home this season.
Warren Foegele has recorded 62.5% of his goals and 65% of his points at home this season.

Edmonton Oilers:

Evan Bouchard, Nugent-Hopkins, and Hyman have combined for just two points this season against Los Angeles.
Mattias Ekholm is slated to miss at least the entire first round of the playoffs.
McDavid has 117 career playoff points in just 74 games, including 42 points in just 25 games last postseason.

Series Pick

The Oilers are hurting badly right now. With Ekholm slated to miss the series against the Kings and Trent Frederic as well as Leon Draisaitl are listed as questionable for Game 1 of the series, it is odd to see that Edmonton is the favorite to win the series at -140. Their goaltending has been average at best this season while Kuemper has dominated the crease and has dominated the Oilers. The Kings will be happy to start the series on their home ice this time around and will be extra motivated to end the Oilers’ run of knocking them out of the playoffs. Depth has been an issue for Edmonton this season and it looks like they will be without their best blueliner and possibly their best goal scorer. Expect the Kings to play physically and look to grab an early series lead. Los Angeles will finally find their way past the Oilers.

My Pick: Los Angeles Kings to Win: +116, Series Total Games: Over 5.5 -188, Series Exact Games: 6 Games +190

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Start:	April 19, 2025 @ 8:30 PM
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Edmonton Oilers vs Los Angeles Kings Series Predictions and Best Bets

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