EDMONTON — Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers aren’t expecting to be taken aback by anything the Los Angeles Kings do in their upcoming series.
“There should be no surprises here,” he said, with a laugh.
The Oilers and Kings are set to meet in the first round of the playoffs for the third straight year. The Oilers are trying to keep their perfect record in the matchup intact.
Both teams have new coaches as Jay Woodcroft and Todd McLellan were fired this season. The Kings still deploy a 1-3-1 system under Jim Hiller, something the Oilers have seen twice since the change behind their bench.
“I would expect a 1-3-1,” McDavid said, smiling.
When it comes to the Oilers, the person with the freshest perspective on a rivalry with the Kings is Woodcroft’s replacement, Kris Knoblauch.
Assistant coach Paul Coffey watched the past Oilers and Kings series closely as an adviser to owner Daryl Katz. In-season acquisitions Corey Perry, Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick have played for the Anaheim Ducks, the Kings’ SoCal rivals, and seventh defenceman Troy Stecher was on the other side of his battle in 2022.
That means Knoblauch has a lot of people — whether players or coaches — to run things by, especially optimal line matchups.
“This team knows them very well,” Knoblauch said. “It’s important to have our reminders, but everyone knows their identity, their systems. What’s most important is our team finding their best game, us playing our best.”
The Oilers are hoping the Kings are just the starting point for a long playoff run.
These are four aspects that could guide the Oilers over the next few weeks — and the concerns that accompany them.
McDavid and Draisaitl will carry the Oilers
There’s no question which players drive the Oilers. They’ll need some help to be sure, but the team will go only as far as McDavid and Leon Draisaitl take them.
Both players had their down stretches this season, but they were still in the NHL’s elite tier of offensive performers. McDavid was third in scoring with 132 points even though his goal total was halved from the 64 he netted last season. He became the fourth player in league history to record 100 assists. Draisaitl was seventh with 106 points despite not hitting the 50-goal mark as he had the previous two seasons.
If past performance is any indication, the Oilers should be in good shape. Draisaitl and McDavid are third and fourth in terms of points per game in playoff history. They trail only Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.
The Oilers are deeper than they’ve ever been. Zach Hyman was third in the league with 54 goals. Warren Foegele had his best NHL campaign. So did Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm.
With McDavid and Draisaitl leading the way, this group should be at its best.
The concern: They need more production from Kane and Nugent-Hopkins
There’s already reason to worry about Evander Kane and the puck hasn’t dropped yet.
Kane missed the final three games of the regular season with an undisclosed injury and didn’t participate in practice Saturday. Knoblauch said he expects Kane to be on the ice Sunday and anticipates he’ll play in the series opener Monday.
Health issues aside, Kane must elevate his game.
Though his 24 goals were good for fourth on the Oilers, Kane had long stretches of indifferent play throughout the season. They need the type of performance he exhibited in the 2022 playoffs when he scored 13 goals in 15 games and was an irritant to opponents.
Kane’s late-season 21-game goal-less skid overshadowed what was a subpar campaign, at least offensively, from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
No one expected him to replicate the 37-goal, 104-point effort he had last season. But Nugent-Hopkins had the same number of points, 67, as he had assists a year ago. He scored just twice in his last 25 games — one on the power play and one into an empty net. He hasn’t netted a five-on-five goal since Feb. 26. He also underwhelmed in the playoffs last season.
Without Kane and Nugent-Hopkins going, the pressure gets ramped up on Nos. 97 and 29.
Stuart Skinner should be up to the challenge, but he still has lots to prove. (Winslow Townson / USA Today)
Skinner should be up to the challenge
The Oilers had a lot of issues before Knoblauch replaced Woodcroft behind the bench Nov. 12. There were structural problems, injuries, bad luck and underperformance from most players. Stuart Skinner certainly fit in the latter category.
Since the early days of Knoblauch’s tenure, well, it’s been a different story.
“For the better part of 60 (team) games, Stu’s been among the very elite goaltenders in the league,” McDavid said. “We’ve got all the faith in the world in him. He’s been playing great.”
McDavid’s is right on the money.
Skinner shut out the Washington Capitals on Nov. 24 and has been a Vezina Trophy candidate for the last four months. He has a .916 save percentage over his last 46 appearances and saved 14.8 goals above average in all situations, per Natural Stat Trick, fifth in the league.
Skinner has rebounded from a poor start — something he hopes will serve him well starting Monday.
“If you want to go on a long road here over the next two months, you’re bound to face some sort of adversity,” Skinner said. “That’s been great preparation for myself, individually.”
Goaltending always seems to be a worry when discussing the high-powered, but Skinner’s track record, which includes being the 2022-23 Calder Trophy finalist, should quiet that narrative.
The concern: He still has lots to prove
That narrative won’t be dispelled until Skinner does it himself during the playoffs. His first attempt last season didn’t go well.
Skinner started all 12 of the Oilers games and was pulled four times — including the last three games against the Vegas Golden Knights. The .883 save percentage just wasn’t good enough.
“I’m ready for Game 83,” Skinner said.
The Oilers must and can win ugly at times
The ever-thoughtful Ekholm summarized this nicely, so he’ll take it away.
“You’re going to have to win games that you don’t deserve to,” he said. “It sounds bad, or it sounds weird, but sometimes two teams are tired. Sometimes two teams are lacking and not having their night. You’ve got to be the one playing not worse. You can play bad and win — and that’s huge in the playoffs. You can’t always outscore the opponent.”
The Oilers have talked a lot about not beating themselves. This is their time to show it.
The concern: They better not rely on that formula too much
Are the Oilers up for it?
“The way we’ve shown throughout the year, especially, I look at January as a month and I thought we played that game a lot,” Ekholm said. “There were even times we went down by a couple (goals), but we stayed patient.
“There’s going to be games when we are on top of our game, and we don’t necessarily need that type of game.”
It’s one thing to get through the likes of the Detroit Red Wings, the Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim without an A-game, but it’s another to beat playoff teams.
Holloway could be useful … if he plays
Dylan Holloway looked like a far more impactful player in the last six games of the season after a recall from AHL Bakersfield.
The solid production of three goals and 5 points was one thing, but there was more to it than that. His pace of play and his forechecking were excellent and he fit in effortlessly, mostly on a line with Ryan McLeod and Perry.
“We’ve been very happy with his game,” Knoblauch said.
Holloway played while McDavid was sidelined for three games and then Kane did the same. There might not be room for him with both players in the lineup.
Winger Mattias Janmark also missed Saturday’s practice, but Knoblauch believes he’ll be ready for Game 1. Provided that’s the case, the coach said a determination on whether Holloway plays will be made Monday morning.
“We will have a difficult decision to make,” Knoblauch said. “We’ll have to take somebody out of the lineup.”
The concern: His usefulness could have limitations
Holloway isn’t perfect. He’s a young player who makes puck-management mistakes. But the biggest problem with him is beyond his control — at least right now.
Holloway doesn’t get time on either special team, which means he’s restricted to even-strength minutes. He won’t get much ice time in a penalty-filled game. That’s where it wouldn’t be surprising to see Knoblauch lean toward someone like Janmark — provided he’s healthy — because he kills penalties. Janmark is also seen by the coaching staff as a safe player down the lineup.
(Top photo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl: Winslow Townson / USA Today)
