Well well well… we meet again. On Monday, the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings will meet for the fourth straight year in the first round. The Oilers have fun the first three meetings in seven, six, and five games.
While it would be funny to end this in four, we know it won’t and that this will be the toughest year against L.A. in the past four years. The Oilers have had a lot of fun and exciting moments versus the Kings so on the brink of the matchup, let’s recap some of the best moments in the playoffs.
2022 Game 2: An explosive 6–0 win
The first win of this rivalry, and what a win to do it at home. After losing 4–3 in Game 1 off an awful Mike Smith turnover, the Oilers locked in. The first period would go scoreless but Leon Draisaitl in his one tee spot would kick things off on the power play.
Moments after, Darnell Nurse off the rush sniped one shorthanded to make it a 2–0 Oilers lead. After a beautiful tip by Ryan McLeod off a Bouch Bomb clapper, the Oilers exploded again in the third period. Evander Kane got a lucky bounce off a partial breakaway and 20 seconds after Jesse “Bison King” Pulujarvi scored on a two-on-one rush on Jonathan Quick.
Kane would later make it 6–0 on a power play goal. I was at this game and was my first time seeing a playoff win live (I went 0–3 in 2017 lol). The building was rocking all night and it set the tone again for what transpired in Game 3.
2022 Game 3: Another big blowout win
The Oilers once again beat the Kings by six goals. An 8–2 spanking. It wasn’t even close. From puck drop and on, the Oilers were by far and away the better team. Draisaitl and Zach Hyman got things started early in the first period and in the second they came out on fire again.
Kane put home a rebound shot from Cody Ceci and just a minute later Hyman scored his second of the game. Later, off another Ceci shot, Kane once again scored to put the boys up 5–0 in the middle of the second. Cal Petersen had to be subbed in for Quick.
While the Kings did get two late in the second (and all Oiler fans held their breath thinking they’ll choke this away), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored two quick ones back-to-back in the third to put the game away. Kane would collect his hat trick in the dying moments of the game.
2022 Game 6 and 7: Oilers take the series
First thing. Yes, I know I included the entire 2022 series in here, but that’s just how awesome every win/game was. Secondly, these two deserved to be grouped together. This was McDavid taking matters into his own hands.
The Oilers, despite the better team, were on the brink of elimination to an L.A. squad who didn’t have Drew Doughty or Viktor Arvidsson playing and had Dustin Brown and Andreas Athanasiou in their top-six. They weren’t a good team and yet they have the Oilers one loss away from being on the outs.
McDavid went supernova. He opened the scoring early in Game 6 and generated chance after chance after chance, but Quick was too strong in the pipes. With five minutes left in regulation tied 2–2, McDavid and Draisaitl led a rush, a pass back to the point and Tyson Barrie scored to make it a 3–2 lead. Kane would seal it with the empty net.
I was at Game 7 and I can tell you that was the best game McDavid has played in career even till this day. Again, this should not have been a 2–0 game. Quick was unreal. McDavid was everywhere, forechecking, skating, dangling through defenders and laying the body. Probably one his most signature moments happened where he beat the defender on the rush, drew a hooking penalty, kept battling and roofed it over Quick to make it 2–0 Edmonton with four minutes to go. The game was done at that point and the emotion on his face and celebration says it all.
2023 Game 4: Comeback for an OT win
I mean this has to be the best playoff comeback in modern day Oilers history right? The Kings went up 3–0 in the first period in a series they led 2–1. Pretty much every Oiler fan felt this was over. That maybe they can win Game 5 but lose in six to the Kings.
But the Oilers fought back. Stuart Skinner got yanked out of net and in came Jack Campbell. The Oilers off two Draisaitl goals and a Bouchard goal tied the game.
Early in the third, Matt Roy scored on a breakaway. The Oilers didn’t die though; Campbell made a beautiful save and Kane later scored on a rush.
Into overtime we go. Bouchard sent an outlet pass to Hyman and a weak wrist shot snuck under Joonas Korpisalo’s arm and went in. Game over. The Oilers came back and tied the series.
2024 Game 1: Oilers started the series off hot
The third year of this matchup. This time in net for the Kings was Cam Talbot—it didn’t matter whatsoever. Hyman got things started early by a nice pass from McDavid. That line struck again moments later when Adam Henrique absolutely rifled one past Talbot. Hyman would score his second from McDavid again and RNH would collect a power play goal to make it 4–0 Edmonton mid second.
The Kings did score three goals however (one called back) and again made Oiler fans wonder if we’d really choke this lead away. Those fears were put to rest when Draisaitl scored right away in the third and Hyman collected his hat trick.
L.A. would have two freebies in the third off when one of their goals went off Nurse’s skate and the other where Cody Ceci broke his stick, threw it in the middle of the ice for some reason right to Alex Laferriere. Foegele would get the empty-netter. A pretty convincing win for Edmonton.
2024 Game 3: A lowly score but important win
While Los Angeles definitely outplayed Edmonton this game and with that came one of two of Stuart Skinner’s best playoff games to date (the other was of course Game 6 versus Dallas). A 1–0 win on the road to put Edmonton up 3–1 in the series right before going back home was huge for the team.
No one else played well that game. The only goal was a Bouchard clapper on the power play. Those last eight minutes were so tight but Stu held strong. What a win.
I didn’t include winning in games six and five in 2023 and 2024 as I feel like winning a series is pretty obviously a fun moment.
Here’s hoping we have more fun moments in 2025 versus the Kings and hopefully come out the series with another win.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
