April 14, 2025 by Raghu Sharma

For the fourth consecutive season, the Edmonton Oilers are set to open the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings.

I doubt this was the rivalry that Commissioner Gary Bettman expected when the NHL changed the playoff format in 2013-14 to focus more on division rivalries, but here we are yet again. However, before they meet up in the post-season next season, these clubs have a crucial regular season matchup on Monday with home ice still up for grabs. Despite both teams needing to win this game to secure second place in the division, they have taken different approaches with their lineups.

The Oilers are choosing to rest several key players, almost to a point that they may be resigned to the fact home ice is really just the Kings for the taking. The first tie breaker is regulation wins, and with only two games to go for the Oilers and three for the Kings. Los Angeles only has a two-point cushion, but a drastic six more regulations wins, which could have the Oilers thinking it makes more sense to get healthy for the playoffs than battle for home-ice advantage in the first round.

The interesting wrinkle here is that the Oilers will finish their regular season on the road in San Jose on Wednesday, so they will likely just end up staying in California if everything pans out that way. Though the injuries have piled up over the last 15 games, the Oilers have managed to pull off some solid wins, especially against strong opponents that helped them clinch their sixth consecutive playoff berth on Friday following a 4-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks at Rogers Place.

It will be fascinating to see what the line combinations look like once the playoffs roll around, especially with all the bodies that have been in and out of the lineup. The Oilers may be in luck with most of their core really just resting and realizing they are here for the long game now, and that these few regular season games ultimately don’t matter. However, one of the biggest challenges of last year was having to be on the road for three out of four playoff rounds. Now, the Oilers will likely start all four rounds on the road, if they make it back to the Final. Additionally, a potential season-ending injury for Mattias Ekholm, a reaggravating an injury for Trent Frederic and major question marks around Evander Kane’s status will surely impact their chances for another Cup run in 2025.

Despite all of the issues with the team this year, the playoffs are a different story, and I am choosing to embrace hope that this team will figure things out once they get to the dance. They still have a strong forward group and a defensive group that is much improved from last year’s squad, assuming Ekholm is able to return in the playoffs. Edmonton’s biggest question mark remains in net and Pickard has quietly outperformed Skinner and created a legitimate goalie conversation in Edmonton for Game 1. With a likely start on the road, not enough time to see how your line combinations will gel and playoffs less than a week away, this team will have to figure out its identity quickly.

Still, the Oilers have a chance to keep the Kings on their heels with a regulation win and some help on the out-of-town scoreboard. The insertion of Boston University star scorer Quinn Hutson as well as Cam Dineen and Josh Brown on the back end, it should make be in for an interesting final home game of the season in Oil Country. A win at home would be a massive confidence-builder for the Oilers and plant a seed of doubt in the Kings going into their highly anticipated playoff series.