For the fourth season in a row, the Edmonton Oilers will face the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the playoffs. While the Oilers have emerged victorious in each of the previous three matchups, the tides might well be shifting to the Kings favour. Between the Oilers awful injury luck and the Kings internal improvements, many are expecting a far closer matchup than in past years.
For Oilers fans, who have their own team to worry about, the Kings progress might be easy to miss. One method of understanding is to take a pulse of how Kings fans think of their team.
Let’s take a look at what Kings fans have to say about their team to get more familiar with the strengths, weaknesses, and the storylines surrounding their journey.
Post deadline record
While the St. Louis Blues have been near invincible, the Kings have one of the league’s best records since the trade deadline. While the Oilers are injured, backing into the postseason, the Kings are powering towards the finish line. This has helped them wrestle home ice from the Oilers, a fact that should be huge for the series. The Kings are a far better team at home, with one of the more dramatic splits for any team in the league.
Clarke has shown a lot of promise
Most of the criticism around the coaches and front office is being channeled through Brandt Clarke’s usage this season. Clarke might well be the best offensive option on the blueline, and the Kings pedestrian power play results this season do not help. One of the high end prospects the Kings accrued over their tougher seasons, a lot of hope has been attached to Clarke since his being drafted. Already with a reputation for being slow to trust young players, Clarke being held back is a source for frustration for many fans.
The injury to Drew Doughty opened up some icetime, and Clarke lived up to his reputation. While he did produce offensively, the Kings have always seemed to pump the breaks. From sitting him out at points this season, to some rumblings that teams were calling about the young right shot defenceman, it is easy to see why there are issues amongst the fan base.
Long term, fans should expect Clarke to continue improving. Meanwhile, Clarke’s youth and inexperience could make him a target for the Oilers. The Kings clearly do not feel ready to trust him in top minutes, and the Oilers could force him into tough situations.
Clarke joins Doughty and Jordan Spence to form a right side with a lot of puck skills. The Kings system will look to force dump ins for these three to turn up ice. Oiler fans will become quite familiar with them in a playoff series, and Clarke represents a huge upside if his game can blossom at the right time.
Kuempdaddy holding down strong
The Kings defensive focus has often helped their goalies to fantastic seasons. At times the Kings have even gotten away with some underwhelming options. This season the team turned an ill-fitting Pierre-Luc Dubois into a more significant investment, Darcy Kuemper. While Kuemper has had his ups and downs, he manages to get off to strong starts with new teams. Of course his Stanley Cup ring will always inspire some level of confidence as well.
Kuemper has been everything the Kings have needed in a starting goalie, performing consistently with a heavy workload. His play has only improved as the season has worn on. The Kings defensive system sets a high floor, but Kuemper is raising the ceiling for the team. Clearly the Kings will be equipped with their best goalie of this now-yearly tradition with the Oilers. The Oilers faced Cam Talbot last season, Jonas Korpisalo the season prior, and the last playoff starts for Jonathan Quick as a King in 2021–22.
Kings have the best xG in the league
As usual the Kings are among the league’s best when it comes to expected goals. The Kings control play with consistency, in large part due to their coaching and personnel. Their rigid defensive approach, their emphasis on functional versus fancy, and their commitment to lines with certain identities is reminiscent of the Carolina Hurricanes, who also perform well in this area.
Pessimistically, one might cite a lack of gamebreaking talent as a glass ceiling for these teams. However, there is always room for optimism. The Kings are hoping that their overall talent is improving, especially from young pillars like Clarke and Quinton Byfield. Again, Kuemper should help the team pay off their stingy defensive play. Some Kings faithful are seeing this as the most balanced forward group the team has had recently.
Kuzmenko has been a stable addition
Linemate Adrian Kempe spoke of Igor Larianov and Sargei Makarov when describing a recent assist from Andrei Kuzmenko. Already on his third NHL team this season, Kuzmenko has routinely seen confidence from his organizations fade. The skills are there, a skilled offensive talent, but the application has been fickle.
For now, the Kings seem to be getting the best version of Kuzmenko. The Kings emphasis on a balanced top-nine forwards opened up a spot on what many consider the team’s first line alongside Kempe and Anze Kopitar. Kuzmenko has been a great complement to the group, providing a bit of an offensive spark for the long-standing duo. Kopitar ensures the line can hold its own defensively, Kempe’s speed and shot helping them in transition.
Kuzmenko might not be a perfect player, but he provides a lot of what Kopitar and Kempe need to succeed. While he may not be able to maintain this level of play, if history is acknowledged, but this hardly matters in a seven game series. Kuzmenko is playing a huge role and could be a major factor in a prospective series against the Oilers.
Mallot has more skills than at first glance
Another new face is earning lots of love is Jeff Mallot. Brother of UFC fighter Mike, Mallot was quick to cement his brand by fighting in the NHL. While rambunctious, Mallot is showing some skill to go alongside. For a Kings team often looking for more from their fourth line, Mallot might even be able to carve out a long term role.
For now, he will at least be an important spark plug deep in the lineup. Mallot was a captain for Cornell University, was a finalist for ECAC defensive forward of the year, and has slowly begun to approach a point per game in this, his fourth AHL season. Mallot got a taste of NHL action with the Winnipeg Jets in one game in 2021–22, but appears to have his foot in the door with the Kings. For now, he finds himself winning a fourth line spot alongside younger players like Samuel Helenius and Alex Turcotte.
The series against the Oilers should be quite chippy, as the long-standing rivals renew unpleasantries. The Oilers are poised to add some aggression of their own, as Evander Kane and Trent Frederic are expected in the lineup. While Mallot is a relative unknown, Oilers fans should expect to become acquainted with him shortly.
Bettman blamed for the format
Facetiously, many fans are taking shots at Commissioner Gary Bettman for his comments in support of the current playoff format. This tracks, as one can imagine losing to the Oilers so many times in a row has grown stale. Fans around the league seem to favour a shakeup, but Kings fans should have a reasonable bias beyond that. This does not mean that the Kings fans are re-signed to another defeat, however.
Kings GM should start thinking about making moves
The basis of the Kings current roster is that young talents like Byfield and Clarke can become game breakers while the veteran core of Kopitar, Danault, and Doughty are still effective. Of course the Kings still flex their impressive depth, but finally getting past the Oilers relies on the convergence of their decorated core and their budding talents.
Byfield is certainly closer, now centring his own line, taking shifts on the second unit of both the power play and the penalty kill. While his overall production is less than last season, his scoring at even strength has improved. His icetime has increased as well. Once the Kings are ready to give him a role on the first power play his numbers will take a more significant jump.
The Kings winning could be as simple as Byfield and Clarke reigniting a stale power play, but clearly the team tries to instill a culture of team defence in their young players more than they try to increase their offensive production. This as a whole summarizes most of the issues under the current brain trust of GM Rob Blake. The team will clearly need major restructuring as their key veterans diminish, and time is surely wearing thinner.
Et tu, Foegele?
Trevor Moore spoke about current linemate recently alluding to Warren Foegele as a player who embodies everything the Kings value as an organization. The former Oiler is having a career season, further proof that not all players peak in their mid-twenties.
Foegele is equal parts tenacious and responsible, thriving in the Kings system. For now Foegele is on a checking line with Moore and Philip Danault. Together the trio plays simple, and has enough offensive punch to capitalize against frustrated opponents.
