Oilers vs Kings Picks, Predictions & Lineups for Thursday Night Hockey (Feb. 26)

• The Oilers are holding down a playoff spot while the Kings sit just three points out.
• Los Angeles scored four goals in its first game with Artemi Panarin in the lineup.
• See my Oilers vs Kings picks, predictions, and latest odds for Feb 26.

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The Edmonton Oilers (28-23-6) and Los Angeles Kings (23-20-14) will face off Thursday night in an important intra-division clash between two Pacific Division rivals.

Edmonton will be looking to get off the mat in a hurry after blowing a 4-1 lead in Anaheim en route to a fourth consecutive defeat. Los Angeles also enters play riding a four-game losing skid, with three of those losses coming to Western Conference foes surrounding them in the standings.

Puck drop is set for 10:30 pm ET from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Let’s take a closer look at my Oilers vs. Kings prediction, as well as picks, odds, and projected lineups.

Oilers vs Kings Predictions

Pick: Over 6.5 goals (-112 at DraftKings)

The Oilers are consistently playing in high-scoring games, which shouldn’t be surprising given their personnel.

Their offense has been borderline unstoppable with the big guns healthy. They have averaged 3.63 goals per game with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, and Evan Bouchard all in the lineup. That’s not much below the powerhouse Colorado Avalanche, who have averaged just over 3.80 goals per game this season.

Edmonton needs that high-powered attack to continue showing up because they can’t keep the puck out. The acquisition of Tristan Jarry has not helped in the least. He has struggled while the Oilers have allowed the 6th-most goals since the deal was made December 12.

On the other side, the acquisition of star winger Artemi Panarin will give the Kings a much-needed shot in the arm offensively. They scored four against Vegas and should be able to chip in their fair share against Edmonton.

Six of the last seven head-to-head meetings have featured seven goals or more. Look for that trend to continue.

Oilers vs Kings Player Picks

Leon Draisaitl anytime goal (+135 at FanDuel)

Draisaitl has found the back of the net in 15 of his last 25 games against Los Angeles, scoring 20 goals in total. He scores more than 60% of his goals from the slot, and the Kings rank 28th in slot goals against over their past 20.

Adrian Kempe Over 0.5 points (-160 at DraftKings)

Kempe enjoyed a ton of success in his first game with Panarin riding shotgun. He scored a goal, added an assist, tallied four shots, and attempted seven. He has 10 points over his last five home dates against Edmonton and is likely to add to those outputs in a game with a 6.5 total.

Oilers vs Kings Odds

This game feels like a toss up and the market clearly agrees. Both sides are trading at -110, indicating the Oilers would be favored on home ice but aren’t playing well enough to earn that respect on the road.

The Oilers are -270 to cover the spread of +1.5 and rightfully so. The Kings have only recorded one multi-goal victory over their past 10 games.

Odds as of 12:35 pm ET at NHL betting apps. Check out the latest NHL odds for all of tonight’s games.

Oilers vs Kings Projected Lineups

Oilers projected lineup

Forwards

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Connor McDavid – Zach Hyman
Matthew Savoie – Leon Draisaitl – Jack Roslovic
Vasily Podkolzin – Adam Henrique – Trent Frederic
Andrew Mangiapane – Curtis Lazar – Mattias Janmark

Defense

Mattias Ekholm – Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse – Jake Walman
Spencer Stastney – Ty Emberson

Goaltenders

Connor Ingram
Tristan Jarry

Injuries: Kasperi Kapanen (undisclosed)

Kings projected lineup

Forwards

Artemi Panarin – Alex Laferriere – Adrian Kempe
Quinton Byfield – Anze Kopitar – Trevor Moore
Warren Foegele – Alex Turcotte – Andrei Kuzmenko
Joel Armia – Sam Helenius – Corey Perry

Defense

Brian Dumoulin – Drew Doughty
Joel Edmundson – Brandt Clarke
Mikey Anderson – Cody Ceci

Goaltenders

Darcy Kuemper
Anton Forsberg

Injuries: Kevin Fiala (lower-body)

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Connor Ingram was forced into action last night but only faced four shots. Such a light workload will have him ready to start tonight in Los Angeles.

The Kings opted to give Darcy Kuemper an extra day of rest after travelling back from the Olympics, better preparing him to face the Oilers. He owns a 14-11-9 record and .900 save percentage on the season.