Oilers' health in spotlight ahead of another playoff series vs. Kings
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The Edmonton Oilers have a long list of players sidelined by injuries but it appears the team could be largely healthy in time for Game 1 against the Los Angeles Kings, when the two sides will renew their playoff rivalry.
While defenceman Mattias Ekholm will miss the entire series, star forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are expected to be ready, along with winger Zach Hyman and defencemen Jake Walman and Troy Stecher. The Oilers could also have trade-deadline addition Trent Frederic back as he has been labelled questionable for Game 1, while head coach Kris Knoblauch said Monday it is "looking good" for Evander Kane to make his season debut that night.
The Oilers have won three of their past four games, falling only to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday when McDavid was among the players to sit out.
“I don’t like the theory that people are counting us out,” McDavid said Tuesday, per NHL.com. “We’re a great team here. We’ve had bumps and bruises along the way here, but we’re a dangerous team when we’re rolling and we’re healthy. I think you’ll see that over the next little while and we’re looking forward to showing that.”
Draisaitl has been out since April 3, and it does not appear he will dress in the team's final regular-season game against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday. The 29-year-old is set to finish the season with a league-high 52 goals and finish tied for third in the NHL with 106 points (matched by Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak) over his 71 games.
Despite an extended absence, McDavid is expecting Draisaitl to play at his usual level when in the playoffs.
“I feel Leon is going to feel the same way [as me],” McDavid said. “Everybody is going to feel the same way coming out of that, and we’ll be ready to roll.”
Goaltender Stuart Skinner returned over the weekend after missing just over two weeks of action, posting 17 saves on 18 shots in a 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets.
It's unclear whether the Oilers will start Skinner in Game 1 against the Kings or turn to Calvin Pickard after a strong run of play down the stretch. Skinner has a 25-18-4 record this season with a 2.87 goals-against average and a .894 save percentage over 50 games. Pickard has gone 22-10-1 with a 2.71 GAA and a .900 save percentage in 36 games.
Skinner has the stronger record against the Kings this season, going 1-0-1 with a .932 save percentage, while Pickard is 0-2-0 against Los Angeles with a .891 save percentage.
No place like home for Kings
Tensions will be high when the Oilers and Kings meet for the fourth straight year in the first round of the playoffs.
The Oilers have advanced in each of the past three seasons, though this year will mark the first time Los Angeles has home-ice advantage.
The Kings have been the best team at home this season, improving their record to 31-5-4 at the Staples Center with Monday's 5-0 win over Edmonton. On the road, the Kings have a 16-19-5 record, going 1-1-0 in Edmonton.
With one game remaining on their schedule against the eliminated Calgary Flames on Thursday, the Kings are set to enter the playoffs as one of league's hottest teams, having won four straight and eight of their past nine.
“It means a lot," Kings forward Adrian Kempe said of earning the advantage with Monday's win. "We’ve established our home game well all season, we have really good confidence there and we’ve shown over the last couple of weeks that we can play better on the road as well.
“I think, considering they were missing a lot of guys tonight, we still played to our strengths and played a consistent and solid game. We weren’t cheating for offence and special teams have been really good over the last couple of weeks too, which is going to be really important going into the playoffs. I think we’re pretty happy with our game right now.”
Oilers, Kings set for hostile series
Monday's game added further fuel to the fire as tempers flared with the Oilers amassing 53 penalty minutes over the first two periods, 15 of which were handed to Darnell Nurse.
Nurse was suspended Tuesday for Edmonton's final game of the season for his cross-check to the back of the head of Quinton Byfield, but will be back for Game 1.
During a second intermission interview on Monday , Kings forward Phillip Danault had some strong words for how he perceived the Oilers were handling the late-season game.
“I think they just have their B squad in trying to hurt us,” he said after the Oilers picked up 45 penalty minutes in the frame.
That comment drew the ire of veteran Oilers forward Corey Perry after the game.
“What the f--k? Excuse my language, but what do you want us to do?” he said. “Did he not see what has happened (to our team) over the last couple of weeks? What does he want us to do? We’re not out there to hurt anybody. Let’s move on.”
Oilers forward Connor Brown acknowledged that Monday's heated matchup was likely a preview of what's to come in the first round.
"Everyone knows what’s ahead of us, a gruelling series, it was a rough one, but the refs did a good job keeping everything under control, they didn’t really let anything go,” Brown said.
“It’s a good team over there; it’s a good team in here. It’s going to be a good series. It’s exciting. Obviously a bit of a frustrating one (tonight), but come next week it’s going to be exciting.”
“What the (expletive)!? Excuse my language, but what do you want us to do?” he said. “Did he not see what has happened (to our team) over the last couple of weeks? What does he want us to do? We’re not out there to hurt anybody. Let’s move on.”
Oilers forward Connor Brown acknowledged that Monday's heated matchup was likely a preview of what's to come in the first round.
"Everyone knows what’s ahead of us, a gruelling series, it was a rough one, but the refs did a good job keeping everything under control, they didn’t really let anything go,” Brown said.
“It’s a good team over there, it’s a good team in here. It’s going to be a good series. It’s exciting. Obviously a bit of a frustrating one (tonight), but come next week it’s going to be exciting.”