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Oilers Vs Kings Round 1 Official - What To Expect? |
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For the past couple of weeks, we have expected and assumed that the Edmonton Oilers and LA Kings would meet in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Now that is official, with the Oilers also securing home ice advantage with a convincing 5-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Over the next few days, I'll be breaking down the differences between these two teams; their lines combinations, forwards, defense, goaltending and more to give Oilers fans a better idea of what to expect from this matchup.
Today, we're going to focus on overall team stats.
Regular Season Record
EDM: 47-27-6 (11th)
LAK: 43-27-10 (16th)
5 on 5 Goals For/Goals Against
EDM: 176GF/168GA (11th)
LAK: 149GF/148GA (26th)
Powerplay Goal Scoring
EDM: 60 (6th)
LAK: 40 (23rd)
Powerplay%
EDM: 26.09% (3rd)
LAK: 16.46% (26th)
Penalty Kill%
EDM: 79.52% (16th)
LAK: 76.36% (23rd)
Team Save Percentage
EDM: 0.904% (15th)
LAK: 0.901% (21st)
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Overall the numbers all favor the Edmonton Oilers, with the exception of 5 on 5 goals against. All of these numbers are based off of the full season of work for both teams but that is actually a less accurate depiction of at the very least, the Edmonton Oilers. A more accurate understanding of the Oilers would be to focus on the team from after February 11th for two reasons; the hiring of Jay Woodcroft as Head Coach and roughly the same time that Evander Kane joined the lineup. Here is how both teams faired in the second half of the season:
NUMBERS SINCE FEBRUARY 11TH 2022
Regular Season Record
EDM: 24-9-3 (3rd in Wins)
LAK: 19-11-3 (14th in Wins)
5 on 5 Goals For/Goals Against
EDM: 88GF/68GA (5th)
LAK: 61GF/74GA (31st)
Powerplay Goal Scoring
EDM: 26 (7th)
LAK: 16 (24th)
Team Save Percentage
EDM: 0.913% (4th)
LAK: 0.894% (21st)
As we already knew, firing Dave Tippett and bringing in Jay Woodcroft had a massive boost on this team's 5 on 5 production and overall team defense. In addition, the Oilers goaltending has been red hot as of late with Mike Smith winning his last 9 starts straight. The fact that Edmonton has the fourth best SV% in the NHL since early February is staggering considering how we looked at this tandem just a few months ago.
The last stat to quickly point out is the Oilers record this season versus the LA Kings. Edmonton has gone 3-1-0 against the Kings this season, outscoring the Kings 13-12.
In order here is a quick break down of these games:
Dec 5th - Kings 5 - Oilers 1
5 on 5 Goals: Kings 2 - Oilers 0
PP Goals: Kings 3 - Oilers 0
SHG: Kings 0 - Oilers 1
Feb 15th - Oilers 5 - Kings 2
5 on 5 Goals: Oilers 3 - Kings 2
ENG Oilers 2 - Kings 0
March 30th - Oilers 4 - Kings 3 (SO)
5 on 5 Goals - Oilers 3 - Kings 3
April 7th - Oilers 3 - Kings 2
5 on 5 Goals - Oilers 3 - Kings 1
SHG - Oilers 0 - Kings 1
Edmonton has won every game against the Kings since Jay Woodcroft took over but each of these games have been a battle, with Edmonton holding onto a one goal lead. Even the 5-2 Oilers win is misleading as two of the goals the Oilers scored were empty net goals.
This series is going to be a battle and I am looking forward to covering it for all of you.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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