What you need to know ahead of the Kings' game against the Edmonton Oilers:
When: Friday, April 26 at 7:30 PM PST
Where: Crypto.com Arena - Los Angeles, CA
Watch: Bally Sports West, TBS and max
Listen: Kings Audio Network on iHeart Radio
Team Records:
Oilers: 49 - 29 - 7 (82 GP, 104 points) -- Playoffs: 1-1
Kings: 44 - 27 - 11 (82 GP, 99 points) -- Playoffs: 1-1
Kings Regular Season Team Rankings:
Power Play: 12th (22.6%)
Penalty Kill: 2nd (84.6%)
Faceoff Win Percentage: 14th (50.6%)
Kings Postseason Team Numbers:
Power Play: 0-for-5
Penalty Kill: 3-for-7
Faceoff Win Percentage: 46.6%
Oilers Regular Season Team Rankings:
Power Play: 4th (26.3%)
Penalty Kill: 15th (79.5%)
Faceoff Win Percentage: 5th (53.2%)
Oilers Postseason Team Numbers:
Power Play: 4-for-7
Penalty Kill: 5-for-5
Faceoff Win Percentage: 53.7%
Kings Notes:
- Anze Kopitar scored his first goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Wednesday night in Edmonton for the third career overtime game-winning goal of his postseason career, surpassing Wayne Gretzky (2), Alec Martinez (2) and Butch Goring (2) for most playoff overtime goals in franchise history. All three of the captain’s playoff overtime goals have come on the road which are tied for the most in the league among active skaters and trails Joe Sakic (5) and Stephane Richer (4) for the most in league history.
- With his overtime goal on Wednesday night, Kopitar became the first player in NHL history to score a playoff overtime goal with the same franchise at 22 years of age or younger and at 36 or older: Apr. 17, 2010 at VAN & Apr. 24, 2024 at EDM. The 11 years and 330 days between his overtime goals in the postseason marked the seventh longest such span by a player in NHL history. Per NHL PR, Kopitar (36 years, 244 days) also became the oldest player in franchise history with an overtime goal during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, besting the previous mark set by Justin Williams (32 years, 243 days in Game 1 of 2014 Stanley Cup Finals).
- The captain also picked up his first and second assists of the playoffs for his ninth and 10th points (3-7=10) over his last eight playoff games, dating back to April 17, 2023. Kopitar's assists stand as his 49th and 50th career even-strength playoff points (16-34=50), making him the fourth skater selected in the 2005 NHL Draft to record 50 even-strength points in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
- Forward Adrian Kempe returns to Crypto.com Arena with four points (3-1=4) through the first two games of the series, including his third career multi-goal game (2-0=2) in Game 2 on Wednesday night (also Game 1 of 2023 R1 & Game 5 of 2022 R1). Kempe is the first Kings player to score at least one goal in each of the team’s first two games from the start of a postseasons since 2014 (Trevor Lewis & Jake Muzzin). With his trio of goals, Kempe is the seventh player in franchise history with three goals through the first two games in a playoff year.
- Mikey Anderson picked up his first assist of the playoffs for his second point (1-1=2) in as many games, establishing his first career playoff point streak. Anderson became the first Kings defenseman 24-years-old or younger to open the Stanley Cup Playoffs with points in back-to-back games since Rob Blake (2-0=2, 1992 DSF vs. EDM). Anderson is just the fourth defenseman in franchise history to begin a post-season with a point streak before turning 25 years-old, also joining Robert Palmer (1-2=3, 1980 Preliminary Round vs. NYI) and Steve Duchesne (2x, last: 0-3=3 1990 DSF vs. CGY).
- Kevin Fiala scored his first goal of the playoffs in his 40th career playoff game during the Kings’ 5-4 overtime victory in Game 2 at Rogers Place. By doing so, Fiala became the first Kings skater to score a goal in his 40th career playoff game since Dustin Brown (1G) and Drew Doughty (1G) each did so on May 16, 2013 vs. San Jose. Fiala also became the fifth Swiss-born skater to play in 40 career Stanley Cup Playoff games on Wednesday night.
- Defenseman Jordan Spence (0=1=1) notched the first playoff point of his career with a primary assist on Kevin Fiala (1-0=1)’s go-ahead goal in Game 3 on Wednesday.
Oilers Notes:
- Dating back to the 2022 playoffs, the Oilers are 4-2 at Crypto.com Arena and are 1-0-1 in Game 3.
- Former first-round draft pick Dylan Holloway buried a pair of goals in Game 2, notching his first two playoff points in his third career postseason game.
- Zach Hayman found the back of the again in Game 2 with a power play goal for his postseason-leading fourth goal of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
- Leon Draisaitl has found the scoresheet in both Game 1 and Game 2 this postseason. After a goal and two assists in Game 1,Draisaitl picked up the primary assist on the Hyman power-play goal in Game 2. Dralsaitl has tallied 24 points (13-11=24) in 15 games against the Kings in the postseason.
- Veteran third liners Corey Perry and Evander Kane have yet to factor in on any offense for the Oilers in the first two games and have been held to just 12 shots, while Perry has picked up four penalty minutes.
Players to Watch:
Kings: Quinton Byfield, who notched his second and third assists of the playoffs during Wednesday’s Game 2 victory in Edmonton. The pair of helpers extended Byfield’s postseason assist streak to a third game (0-4=4), dating back to April 29, 2023, while pushing his overall playoff point streak to four games (1-4=5), dating back to April 25, 2023. With seven points (1-6=7) in 10 total contests, Byfield’s 0.70 points-per-game (PTS/GP) average leads all skaters from the 2020 NHL Draft class (min. GP: 5).
Oilers: Connor McDavid, who is tied with Brad Marchand for the NHL lead in points this postseason. Having played one less game than Marchand, McDavid has six assists and six points. McDavid has 30 points (7-23=30) in 15 career postseason games against the Kings.
