The Los Angeles Kings will face the Edmonton Oilers within the opening spherical of the upcoming Stanley Cup playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.
The Oilers have received the three earlier conferences and had home-ice benefit in every sequence.
On Monday night time, in a regular-season sport, the Kings (46-24-9, 101 factors) can clinch second place within the Pacific Division and home-ice benefit with a victory over host Edmonton. With three video games remaining, Los Angeles has a two-point lead over the Oilers, who’ve two video games left.
“We wish to play (at residence),” Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke stated. “We wish to play in entrance of our followers. They have been nice to us all season, and clearly we have completed properly (at residence). And I believe it is simply time to … flip the script.”
The Kings, who’ve the league’s greatest residence file (31-5-4), will kick off a two-game highway journey after claiming a 5-4 residence win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
Quinton Byfield opened the scoring for a 3rd consecutive sport in a three-point sport. Alex Laferriere had a career-best three-point outing, and Kevin Fiala set a profession excessive together with his team-leading thirty fourth objective of the marketing campaign.
The three gamers have made up one of many league’s greatest traces over the previous few weeks.
“We have form of constructed numerous chemistry over the previous couple months, and I believe it is actually beginning to present,” Laferriere stated. “And I believe folks speak lots about getting scorching on the proper time, and clearly we wish to contribute within the playoffs.”
The Oilers will return residence after a 4-1 victory on the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday and are driving a three-game successful streak.
Edmonton (47-28-5, 99 factors) confronted a Winnipeg squad that earlier within the day had clinched the Presidents’ Trophy as regular-season champion and opted to take a seat out No.-1 goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, high defenseman Josh Morrissey and captain Adam Lowry. However the circumstances didn’t diminish the Oilers’ efficiency.
“Once we get our full lineup, we’re such a deep membership to assist a little bit bit the most effective two gamers on this planet. I believe the sense of perception on this group may be very excessive,” Oilers ahead Connor Brown stated. “A pair extra video games right here earlier than the dance, and so (we’ll) hold our habits up and hold going.”
Edmonton captain Connor McDavid continued his torrid tempo, as he has collected 9 assists in three outings since lacking eight video games as a consequence of damage. McDavid has 99 factors this season and has notched 28 factors (4 targets, 24 assists) in a 16-game level streak that was interrupted by his lower-body damage.
The excellent news for Edmonton doesn’t finish there, even with main objective scorer and level producer Leon Draisaitl sidelined as a consequence of damage.
Goaltender Stuart Skinner returned after lacking the earlier eight video games with a head damage, and veteran Corey Perry collected one objective and one help, giving him 18 targets and 29 factors for the season.
–Discipline Degree Media
“It has been super to have that scoring from usually a fourth line on our group, enjoying at most 10 to 13 minutes,” coach Kris Knoblauch stated. “These days, these final couple weeks due to the accidents, (Perry’s) position has gone up, he is performed extra minutes. However for any person in that state of affairs to get (shut) to twenty targets and never be on the primary unit energy play, or little or no this 12 months, that is a exceptional 12 months.”
–Discipline Degree Media