Kings Notes:
The Kings held Connor McDavid pointless during Game 1 and for the 10th time in his career (regular season and playoffs combined), which trails only Calgary (11x) for the most such outings since he entered the league in 2015-16.
Anze Kopitar scored the game-tying goal on the man advantage with 16.7 seconds to go in the final frame in Game 1. In doing so, he became the 11th different Kings skater to score a game-tying goal in the final minute of a playoff game and the first since Marian Gaborik (Game 1 of 2014 R2 at ANA). Kopitar is just the eighth player in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to score a game-tying goal in the final minute of regulation and factor on the overtime winner and first since Rickard Rakell in Game 5 of 2017 Second Round (with ANA).
Jaret Anderson-Dolan made his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut in Game 1 while Viktor Arvidsson, Vladislav Gavrikov and Joonas Korpisalo all made their Kings postseason debuts.
The Kings earned a third-period multi-goal comeback win in the playoffs for the sixth time in franchise history in Game 1 on Monday night (also Game 2 of 2014 SCF, Game 4 of 2001 CQF, Game 1 of 1990 DSF, Game 3 of 1982 DSF & Game 6 of 1976 QF). Game 1 of the 1990 Division Semifinals marked the only other instance where the Kings did so in a postseason opener.
The Kings power play ranked 4th in the NHL (25.3%).
The Kings penalty kill ranked 23rd in the NHL (75.7%).
The Kings were 3rd in faceoff win percentage (53.2%).
Oilers Notes:
In Game 1, the Kings held Connor McDavid pointless, snapping his 16-game point streak dating back to March 9th. During that span, McDavid notched 29 ponts (10-19=29).
Edmonton had 18 slot shots on net and seven scoring chances off the cycle at even strength against the Kings in Game 1, compared to just six and one for Los Angeles
The Oilers power play ranked 1st in the NHL (32.4%), setting the all-time NHL record for power play percentage in a season. Despite the record, the Oilers went 2-for-13 (15.4%) on the PP against the Kings in the regular season and 1-for-3 in Game 1.
The Oilers penalty kill ranked 20th in the NHL (77.0%).
The Oilers were 15th in faceoff win percentage (50.8%).
Who to Watch:
Adrian Kempe, who registered his second career multi-goal playoff outing in Game 1. Kempe's two-goal effort is his 11th since the start of the 2022-23 regular-season which trails only Edmonton's Connor McDavid (14) for the league lead. Kempe is the first Kings skater since Ziggy Palffy (2-0=2 in Game 1 of 2002 CQF) to collect a multi-goal game in the opening game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and 12th different Kings player to do so in a playoff series Game 1.
Leon Draisaitl, who recorded two of the Oilers three goals in Game 1. Draisaitl comes into the series with 128 points (52-76=128) in 80 games this season.
