Call it luck. Call it destiny. Call it what you want, but the Los Angeles Kings are two wins away from doing something they haven’t done since lifting the Stanley Cup in 2014: escaping the first round.
After a Game 1 that nearly slipped through their fingers, the Kings are headed to Edmonton on Friday, April 25, with a 2–0 lead in their first-round series against the Oilers, thanks to a pair of six-goal performances, opportunistic power plays, and a relentless top line led by Adrian Kempe.
Game 1 felt like a microcosm of everything that makes playoff hockey gut-wrenching. The Kings took a 5–2 lead into the third period at home, only to see Connor McDavid go full video game mode, scoring once and assisting twice to erase the deficit. But with under a minute left, Phillip Danault’s fluttering shot from the top of the circle found a way through a screened Stuart Skinner. It was less a rocket than a knuckler, wobbling its way into the net to give the Kings a 6–5 win. If that goal doesn’t go in, who knows where the momentum swings.
Game 2 brought a different tone but the same energy and tighter execution. Brandt Clarke scored his first playoff goal, Quinton Byfield and Andrei Kuzmenko added power play tallies, and the Kings again took a multi-goal lead into the third period. This time up 3–1. But rather than sitting back, they kept their foot on the gas. Kempe scored two more times, Kopitar added one of his own, and the Kings ran away with a 6–2 win that left Crypto.com Arena chanting, “We want Skinner!”
The story of the series so far might be told in one stat: The Oilers are 26–0 when Stuart Skinner posts a .900 save percentage or better this season and 0–18 when he doesn’t.
In two games, Skinner has surrendered 11 goals on 61 shots, including five on Wednesday night before getting pulled. The Kings’ power play has gone 5-for-10 through two games, tying a franchise record for the most in the first two games of a postseason. Execution has been sharp, passing precise, and Skinner, to put it bluntly, hasn’t had answers.
That’s a problem when the opposing offense is this dialed in. Kempe now has seven points (3G, 4A) through two games, including 2 goals and 2 assists in Game 2 alone. Kopitar added a four-point night himself (1G, 3A), while the late-season addition of Andrei Kuzmenko has paid immediate dividends in the form of 2 goals and 3 assists so far. “We battled for home ice, and we wanted to take advantage of it,” Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson said. “We’re happy to have two, but we know this isn’t over.”
This series is far from over because Edmonton’s firepower still looms. McDavid and Draisaitl have already shown they can tilt the ice when it matters. And if Edmonton’s recent history is any indicator, like their comeback from a 3–0 series deficit in last year’s Cup Final to force Game 7 against Florida they won’t go quietly.
But history is leaning towards the Kings. Teams that win Game 1 go on to win the series 68% of the time. Teams that score 12 goals across two playoff games don’t usually find themselves packing early.
Game 3 shifts to Edmonton on Friday night, where the Oilers will look to protect home ice and claw back into the series. The Kings? They’ll try to prove that this version of the Kings is finally healthy, finally clicking and is built to move on. If they can steal one in Edmonton, it’s checkmate.