EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers can pull even in the Western Conference First Round against the Los Angeles Kings with a win in Game 4 at Rogers Place on Sunday (9:30 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, TBS, truTV, MAX, FDSNW).
The Kings lead the best-of-7 series 2-1. Game 5 is at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
“It’s good to have an opportunity to square things up at home tonight,” Oilers forward Zach Hyman said after the morning skate Sunday. “We’re feeling good, we’re feeling confident. It’s going to be another hard game. They’re a good team obviously, but we have an opportunity to level things.”
Calvin Pickard will start his second consecutive playoff game for Edmonton. He replaced Stuart Skinner for Game 3 and made 24 saves in a 7-4 win Friday.
“I think with Calvin, you look at his win-loss record, especially after January 1 (14-6-1), he finds a way to win hockey games,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “Whether we feel better or play better in front of him or he comes us with big saves at key times, whatever it is, he’s able to get that win-loss record that’s pretty flattering for him.”
The rest of the lineup is expected to remain the same for Edmonton. Forward Jeff Skinner will be a healthy scratch for the third consecutive game after the 32-year-old played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in Game 1. Skinner had played 1,078 regular-season games over 15 seasons before his postseason debut.
Skinner was replaced by Evander Kane, who had a goal and assist in Game 3.
Connor McDavid leads the Oilers with seven points (two goals, five assists) in three games.
This is the fourth consecutive season Edmonton and Los Angeles have met in the first round of the playoffs. Edmonton won the previous three series.
Despite losing Game 3, Los Angeles is happy where it stands in the series.
“After the game (Friday) we were all in the dressing room and [Anze Kopitar] said if you were to ask us a week ago if we would take being up 2-1 going into Game 4? Absolutely,” Kings defenseman Joel Edmundson said. “Our heads are still held high and we’re looking forward to Game 4.”
This is the second time in three seasons the Kings have an opportunity to take a 3-1 lead in a series against the Oilers. Los Angeles held a 2-1 lead in 2023 and went up 3-0 in Game 4, but Edmonton rallied for a 5-4 overtime victory. The Oilers went on to win that series in six games.
“It’s just another chance for us to beat them,” Kings forward Kevin Fiala said. “The start is obviously important. We’ve got to do a better job than last time [2-0 deficit], but we came back.
“It's very nice for us to know that for our confidence, but at the same time we're going to try to take the lead today.”
Darcy Kuemper will make his fourth straight start for Los Angeles. He has 4.04 goals-against average and an .860 save percentage in the series.
The Kings power play is 7-for-12 (58.3 percent) in the series, a massive improvement from the regular season when it ranked 27th (17.9 percent). The Oilers are 2-for-7 (28.6 percent) with the man-advantage.
Adrian Kempe has five assists on the power play and nine points (four goals, five assists) in the first three games for Los Angeles. Kopitar has seven points (one goal, six assists).
The Kings have not won a playoff series since winning the Stanley Cup for the second time in 2014.
Teams that have taken a 3-1 lead in a best-of-7 series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs have won the series 91 percent of the time (316-32). The Oilers are 7-9 (.438) when trailing 2-1 in a series.
Here is a breakdown of Game 4:
Kings: Los Angeles battled back from a 2-0 deficit in Game 3 and had a 4-3 lead going into the third period but were unable to maintain it; it was 35-1-2 when leading after the second period in the regular season. Kempe is having an outstanding series so far and is big reason the power play has been so successful. If Los Angeles can find a way to take a 3-1 lead in the series, it will have two opportunities to close it out at home, in Game 5 and Game 7, if necessary. The Kings have home-ice advantage for the first time in the past four seasons against the Oilers.
Oilers: Edmonton is starting to find its rhythm after having several players injured toward the end of the regular season. Kane said he felt much better in his second game after missing the entire regular season; he had not played since Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final last season on June 10. Forward Trent Frederic is also feeling better, recovering from a high-ankle sprain, sustained with the Boston Bruins before he was acquired by Edmonton on March 4. Defenseman John Klingberg is also back after missing the last 10 games of the regular season with a foot injury sustained blocking a shot on March 27 at the Seattle Kraken.
Number to know: 17. The length of the playoff point streak Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl has against the Kings (31 points; 16 goals, 15 assists). He has 35 points (19 goals, 16 assists) in 21 playoff games against Los Angeles.
What to look for: Can the Kings power play stay hot? It has scored on more than 58 percent of its opportunities over the first three games. Los Angeles did not have a power-play goal in the playoffs last season, losing to Edmonton in five games. Can Pickard give Edmonton another quality start? The Oilers goalie will play his fourth playoff game in two seasons for the Oilers; he is 2-1 with a 2.92 GAA and an .889 save percentage in five playoff games (three starts).
