With just over two weeks remaining in the 2024-25 NHL regular season, it’s looking more and more like the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings will be meeting in the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Los Angeles is currently in second place in the Pacific Division with 91 points from a record of 41-23-9, while Edmonton is in third with 89 points from a record of 42-26-5. Both teams have nine games left to play in the regular season.
Sure, there’s a chance that either the Kings or Oilers could chase down the Vegas Golden Knights, who sit atop the Pacific Division standings with 98 points from a record of 45-20-8. There is also the slight possibility that either the Vancouver Canucks (81 points from a record of 34-27-13) or Calgary Flames (80 points from a record of 34-26-12), who are currently in fourth and fifth place, respectively, could catch Edmonton or Los Angeles.
But barring something quite unlikely, the Oilers and Kings are going to face off for a fourth consecutive spring. The real question is, which of those teams can finish ahead of the other and secure home ice advantage for the best-of-seven series?
Comparing Teams’ Schedules
Edmonton’s final nine games will come against opponents that have an average point percentage of .524, while L.A.’s last nine games are against teams that have an average point percentage of .562. The Oilers, however, have five games remaining against teams presently in a playoff spot, while the Kings have just four against teams that are currently in a postseason position. Los Angeles also plays six of its final nine games at home, while the Oilers are on the road for six of their last nine contests.
Two of those games will come against each other, as the Kings are set to host the Oilers at Crypto.com Arena on April 5, before the teams do battle again just over a week later, at Rogers Place in Edmonton on April 14. Suffice it to say, the results of those games will go a very long way to determining the final order of the Pacific Division standings.
Evenly Matched Opponents
Edmonton and L.A. have previously met twice this season, with each winning once: Los Angeles defeated the Oilers 4-3 when Quinton Byfield scored in overtime at Crypto.com Arena on Dec. 28; Edmonton blanked the Kings 1-0 with Connor McDavid scoring the lone goal at Rogers Place on Jan. 13.
Both contests were indicative of how evenly matched the Kings and Oilers are. Over those 120 minutes (plus 3:19 of sudden death OT), the teams were never separated by more than one goal, and they spent the majority of the time tied. Even their shot totals were nearly identical: 29-27 for L.A. on Dec. 28; 30 apiece on Jan. 13.
McDavid and Leon Draisaitl lead Edmonton with two points each against Los Angeles this season, while Kings forwards Byfield and Warren Foegele each have recorded three points against the Oilers so far in 2024-25.
Home Has Its Advantages
It’s not at all uncommon for lower seeds to win NHL postseason series, and teams actually had a losing record at home in both the 2023 and 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. So with that in mind, would home ice advantage really make a difference in a series between Edmonton and Los Angeles? You better believe it.
The Kings have been a juggernaut this season at Crypto.com Arena, where they have lost just four times in regulation. In their most recent home game, on Sunday (March 30), the Kings crushed the San Jose Sharks 8-1.
Edmonton plays well away from home, boasting the highest road point percentage of any team in the Pacific Division this season, but the Oilers still have a better record when they play in the friendly confines of Rogers Place.
Then, there’s the fact that the home team has won both of the first two meetings between the Oilers and Kings thus far in 2024-25. The most telling stat of all, however, is that Edmonton had home advantage every time that it defeated L.A. in the first round of the playoffs each of the last three years.
Playoff Deja Vu
In the 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24 NHL regular seasons, Edmonton finished second and Los Angeles placed third in the Pacific Division standings, setting up a first round playoff battle between the longtime divisional rivals. Edmonton won the series in seven games in 2022, six games in 2023 and five games last spring.
And now, odds are that Edmonton will once again meet Los Angeles in the playoffs, which is incredible considering the improbability of the same two teams facing each other in four consecutive postseasons. And in the same round, to boot.
Edmonton’s last extended run of repeatedly facing the same postseason opponent came between 1997 and 2001 and again in 2003, when the Oilers and Dallas Stars squared off a total of six times in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Oilers won the first meeting, before Dallas prevailed in each subsequent series. Edmonton hopes things go more in its favour this time around.
