After losing the first two games of their best-of-seven Western Conference first round series against the Los Angeles Kings on the road, the Edmonton Oilers bounced back to win Games 3 and 4 at Rogers Place, by scores of 7-4 and 4-3 (in overtime), respectively.
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With the teams now tied at two victories apiece, the series shifts back to Crypto.com Arena for Game 5 on Tuesday (April 29). Here are four keys for Edmonton to prevail in Game 5 and move within one victory of advancing to Round 2 for a fourth straight postseason.
Another Solid Start From Pickard
After Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner got blitzed for 11 goals on 58 shots combined in Games 1 and 2, the Oilers turned to Calvin Pickard between the pipes. It wouldn’t quite be accurate to say that Pickard has played great, but he’s been good, particularly in the third period, and most importantly, has given his team a chance to win.
But the bottom line is that Pickard is a career backup who had made only two postseason starts in his entire NHL career (both with the Oilers last year) before taking the ice for Game 3, so it’s fair to wonder if the Oilers can continue to depend on the 33-year-old to backstop them this spring.
Without question, one of the biggest couple of differences between the first two games and the two latest games for the Oilers has been the calibre of goaltending. Pickard needs to maintain his level of play, and maybe even elevate it, for Edmonton to win at Crypto.com Arena.
Win the Special Teams Battle
Another big difference has been the Oilers’ performance on the power play and penalty kill. In Games 1 and 2 combined, Edmonton was outscored by five and was a minus-5 on special teams. In Games 3 and 4 combined, Edmonton outscored Los Angeles by two (excluding goals scored into an empty net) and was plus-2 on special teams. The correlation of those numbers is no coincidence, just as it’s no coincidence that Los Angeles won the first two games and Edmonton took the last two: this series is being decided on special teams.
Edmonton’s short-handed play was abysmal through the first three games, when the Kings converted seven of their 12 power-play opportunities. But the Oilers went 3/3 killing penalties in Game 4, raising hopes of a return to form for the team that had the third-best penalty kill percentage in the entire NHL over the final 24 weeks of the regular season.
Power-play opportunities have proven scarce for Edmonton in the series thus far, but the Oilers utilized their incredible offensive talent to near-maximum impact in Games 3 and 4, going a combined 4/5 with the man advantage over those two contests. Both game-winners in the series for Edmonton have been scored on the power-play, including Leon Draisaitl’s overtime goal on Sunday.
Don’t Let Kings Get in Front
Considering the Oilers rallied after trailing in the third period to win both Games 3 and 4, there is a temptation to think that playing from in front isn’t all that crucial. That would be a mistake.
Los Angeles jumped out to leads of 4-0 and 3-0 in Games 1 and 2, respectively. Edmonton fought to battle back on both occasions, and even managed to momentarily tie the score late in Game 1, but the large deficits ultimately proved too much to overcome.
The Kings are a different team at Crypto.com Arena, where during the regular season they had the league’s best home point percentage (.805) and went 23-3-1 when scoring first as well as 17-0-1 when leading after the first period.
Crush the Kings’ Confidence
Before Game 3, Los Angeles had won 43 of 45 games (with neither loss coming in regulation) when scoring at least three goals in the 2024-25 regular season and 2025 Postseason combined. Edmonton managed to buck that trend in both of its wins.
Combine that with the facts that Edmonton rallied to snatch the last two games from the jaws of defeat, and that it has eliminated Los Angeles in the first round each of the last three postseasons, the Kings might be starting to question themselves.
Edmonton must capitalize on that doubt by pouncing on the Kings in Game 5. There is no doubt Crypto.com Arena will be rocking. The Oilers would like nothing more than to crash the party.
