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The Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers kick off their first round playoff series tonight in Edmonton.
It marks the rematch of last year’s first round matchup, which saw the Oilers squeak past the Kings in seven games. This year though, each team has improved and we’re set for what should be another wildly entertaining series.
Both teams made big moves at the trade deadline, adding the exact pieces they were missing in an effort to gear up for a playoff run. The Oilers got a massive boost to their blue line with the addition of Mattias Ekholm from the Nashville Predators, adding an extremely reliable defender. Meanwhile, the Kings made an improvement of their own within their defense group in the form of Vladislav Gavrikov, while also finding a solution in net with Joonas Korpisalo. That said, the Kings’ biggest upgrade since last year comes with their top forward in Kevin Fiala, but both he and Gabriel Vilardi will miss Game 1.
While both teams have improved defensively though, these are still two teams who score a lot of goals and obviously, the threat when playing the Oilers is just trying to keep the puck out of your net. The key to this is going to be staying out of the box as much as possible, given the Oilers’ league-best power play, which essentially scores at a rate of a goal every three power plays. If the Kings take penalties, it will cost them.
This goaltending matchup is going to be really interesting as well, given each team basically found their solution later in the season. Stuart Skinner has been great for the Oilers and completely shut down Los Angeles in the last two meetings, while Joonas Korpisalo has posted a .921 save percentage across 11 games with the Kings. Given the volume of chances we’re likely to see exchanged, goaltending could end up making a huge difference.
I think it’s probably fair to say Edmonton has a bit of an edge heading into the series. They enter with home ice advantage and come into the playoffs red hot, on a nine-game winning streak. Then factor in the absences of Fiala and Vilardi as well, which are a big hit, and it’s difficult to say the Kings are the favourite. Readers tend to agree as well, with 76 per cent of voters in the poll from last article saying they think the Oilers will win the series.
At the same time, the Kings were playing very good hockey up until the last stretch of the season and they’re a deep team up front. Especially if Fiala and Vilardi are able to return, the Kings matchup fairly well on paper.
Once again, I think we’re set to see a great series.
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OTHER ARTICLES FROM APRIL
Kings end road trip with back-to-back wins, clinch playoff spot
Kings come up short in another key showdown against Oilers
Looking at different playoff scenarios for the Kings after recent slide
Kings at risk of slipping to wild card spot amidst three-game losing streak
Breaking down the playoff picture in West before Kings’ 82nd game
Kings lock up third place in Pacific, will face Oilers in first round 
Los Angeles Kings Blogger • 
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