The Edmonton Oilers have yet to clinch a playoff spot, but the team is trending towards their best play of the season at the right time. Their first round opponent is still very much in the air, and a yearly tradition remains a possibility. The Oilers have made it a tradition to beat the Los Angeles Kings in the first round in each of the past four seasons. Needless to say that the fan bases are familiar with each other.
Still, each season is different, and both teams have continued to evolve through the years. How might the Oilers match up against the Kings this season? Let’s take a closer look at the Kings roster to see what a playoff series might look like.
Forwards
Panarin—Kopitar—Kempe
Moore—Byfield—Laferriere
Armia—Laughton—Wright
Joseph—Turcotte—Ward
Extras: Malott, Lee
Injured: Helenius, Kuzmenko, Fiala
There is significant change up front for the Kings. For one, Artemi Panarin has joined the team, giving the Kings their most skilled winger in years. Panarin is no longer in his peak form, but still has plenty to offer for an offensively challenged Kings team. Adrian Kempe might be the only other winger who can reliably produce offence on this roster, and it doesn’t not help that Anze Kopitar is starting to show signs of slowing down.
With Kevin Fiala out for the season, the Kings are lacking offensive threats on the wings. Trevor Moore and Alex Laferriere are hard working players who can chip in some offence, but are not enough to form a second line. Andrei Kuzmenko can be streaky, and at least brings some skill. Joel Armia is worth mentioning, but is hardly a scoring option for a serious contender.
Absent from previous seasons is Phillip Danault, who was traded. With Kopitar diminished and Danault gone, the Kings once supreme defensive combination down the middle is no more. In fact, it is now Quinton Byfield who leads the penalty killing efforts among forwards. Byfield does not yet have a regular spot on the top power play, despite being the Kings top offensive centre. Perhaps his production would look a lot more impressive with more opportunities here.
Scott Laughton has helped the centre depth, while Alex Turcotte and Samuel Helenius are reasonable options for depth at this point. In all there is a lot of grit and effort in this lineup, but there is also a lack of offensive talent. The performance has reflected this, the Kings ranking near the bottom in goals for per game and power play efficiency.
Defence
Dumoulin—Doughty
Edmundson—Clarke
Anderson—Ceci
Extras: Moverare
Drew Doughty still leads the Kings in icetime, but Brandt Clarke has taken over the top power play role. It is big news for the Kings, who bottomed out for some high draft picks. The thought was that Byfield and Clarke could become impact players, bolstering a decorated veteran core into another championship window. Unfortunately for the Kings the transition has not been as smooth as hoped, and to some extent this might be the last chance at realizing their vision.
The defence does seem to be spread out fairly evenly, as Doughty’s longtime partner Mikey Anderson finds himself driving his own pairing. All three of Doughty, Clarke, and Anderson are paired with a veteran. Oilers fans will be familiar with Cody Ceci, while Joel Edmundson and Brian Dumoulin offer some stability. It is fair to question if the blueline is as strong as previous years, now without Vladislav Gavrikov and Jordan Spence.
The overall team defence remains strong, though. At even strength this is especially true, where the Kings are effective at limiting high danger opportunities. The penalty kill has been less convincing, in particular giving up net front chances. Given their limited offensive capabilities, a poor penalty kill is a huge issue for the Kings.
Goalies
Kuemper
Forsberg
After a sterling performance last regular season, Darcy Kuemper has comeback down to earth a bit. Of course, the Kings penalty kill does not help matters. Still, Kuemper has been effective this season. Backup Anton Forsberg has been strong in his role, authoring what might well be the best season of his career. There is no reason to suspect a goaltending controversy, as their performances are quite similar, but credit is due to Forsberg.
Elsewhere, it seems a bit mysterious that Erik Portillo has not yet received a genuine look at the NHL level. After a strong outing in his single NHL appearance last season, Portillo has authored a number of strong seasons in his career so far. Going back to his efforts in Sweden’s junior league, Portillo has had success in the USHL, the NCAA, and the AHL. At some point he might deserve a chance to prove himself, and at 25-years-old the time is now. While he likely will not make an appearance in the playoffs this season, he is a name to watch in the future.
Versus the Oilers
It is no secret that the Oilers have owned the Kings in the playoffs, and would’ve favoured to do so once more. The series between the teams have been tightly contested, the Oilers suffering their share of tense moments throughout. This season the Kings have not been as strong as last season, yet in the playoffs that only matters so much. A bad week, a bad game, or a bad bounce can make all the difference.
The Kings beat the Oilers in a shootout in January, but were trounced 8–1 by the Oilers in late February. With one or regular season matchup on the docket, the Oilers will be looking to prove that the Kings are no match for their best effort. Outside of the win over the Oilers in January, the Kings have virtually no big victories since the new year. Back-to-back wins against the Minnesota Wild in early January might be the only other marquee performances by the Kings in 2026.
For that reason it is unlikely that the Kings will present much threat to the Oilers on paper. Some might even look at their place in the standings and wonder if they can pull themselves into the playoffs at all. On their side is an easy schedule down the stretch, the Oilers the only likely playoff team that the Kings have left. Of course, what matters is how things play out on the ice, but many Oilers fans will be hoping for their yearly tradition of beating the Kings in the first round to continue.
Last season the Kings went into the playoffs with a hot power play and an outstanding home ice record. This season, the Kings do not appear to have the same swagger or pose the same threat. Still, this is a proud veteran team who can frustrate opponents with tight checking and physicality. No opponent should be taken lightly.
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