Oilers to play Kings in Round 1 for third straight year

The Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings meeting in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is starting to become an every-year thing.

After the Kings went to overtime with the Chicago Blackhawks and the Vegas Golden Knights’ lost to the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, the first-round matchup was made official as Los Angeles finished third in the Pacific Division.

Not only is it the third straight year the two teams have faced off in Round 1, but it’s also the third time the Oilers and Kings have finished second and third in the Pacific Division, respectively.

RELATED:

Leafs, Oilers, Jets or Canucks? Here’s which team Canadian hockey fans think can win the Stanley Cup

Four Canadian hockey teams will compete for the Stanley Cup this season, and with a lot on the line for each one, fans from across the country are weighing in on who they believe will bring it home this…

Depth scoring, Skinner’s resilience guides Oilers to series win over Kings

The rookie goalie had never had it happen to him before, while the 750-game defenceman could only rub his prodigious beard and mutter, “Never seen anything like it.” Oilers fans will recall the…

Oilers to face Kings in playoff rematch

The Edmonton Oilers will take on the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after Thursday night’s results. The series is a rematch of a seven-game first-round thriller that…

‘We’re not done’: Edmonton Oilers keen on continuing deep playoff push

The Oilers aren’t settling for the second round. Edmonton moved on to the next phase of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 2-0 victory over the L.A. Kings in Game 7 on Saturday night, but Leon Draisaitl…

Oilers clinch second in Pacific with win over Penguins, will meet Kings in Round 1

Connor McDavid had a goal and three assists to outduel Sidney Crosby, and the surging Edmonton Oilers rolled past the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 on Tuesday night. McDavid pushed his point total to an NHL-best…

The Kings and Oilers matchup was anything but a sure thing as it all came down to the wee hours of Friday morning with the final two games on the NHL schedule.

With the Golden Knights’ loss to the Ducks, and the Kings up 3-1 on the Blackhawks headed to the third, most were already prepping for a Kings-Oilers series. But after three unanswered third-period goals from the Blackhawks to take a 4-3 lead, suddenly it looked like the Oilers would be taking on the defending Cup champs instead.

The matchup then got flipped for a final time after the Kings levelled the game thanks to a Viktor Arvidsson goal (on the power play and with the goalie pulled) with just over a minute remaining in the third, sending the game to overtime, and clinching the division’s No. 3 spot. The Kings went on to win 5-4 in OT.

Los Angeles will be hoping the result of this year’s clash is different than the previous two seasons, as the Oilers eliminated the Kings in seven games in 2022, then six in 2023.

This season, the Oilers hold a 3-1 record over the Kings.

After falling to the final wild-card spot, the defending Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights booked a round one date with the Dallas Stars — the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed.

The two first-round matchups already set in the West were the Vancouver Canucks vs. the Nashville Predators and the Winnipeg Jets vs. the Colorado Avalanche.

Round 1 schedule

GAME 1: Kings @ Oilers — Apr. 22, 8 p.m.
GAME 2: Kings @ Oilers — Apr. 24, 8 p.m.
GAME 3: Oilers @ Kings — Apr. 26, 8:30 p.m.
GAME 4: Oilers @ Kings — Apr. 28, time TBD
*GAME 5: Kings @ Oilers — May 1, time TBD
*GAME 6: Oilers @ Kings — May 3, time TBD
*GAME 7: Kings @ Oilers — May 5, time TBD
*Games 5, 6, and 7 are if necessary