Oilers vs Kings Series Odds, Preview, Schedule & Prediction

• The Edmonton Oilers take on the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs
• Edmonton enters the series as -220 favorites, eyeing a spot in the second round
• See the Oilers vs Kings Series odds before they kick off their best-of-seven matchup

The regular season is over. The past 82 games, teams have enjoyed hot streaks, battled through cold spells, dealt with a variety of injuries and navigated the highs and lows of the regular season.

Now the real competition starts—the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Not surprisingly, there will be a lot of attention on the Edmonton Oilers. Connor McDavid is the automatic choice when it comes to the Hart Trophy Odds. It doesn’t hurt that he has Leon Draisaitl riding shotgun, creating the most dangerous duo in the NHL.

Edmonton will be facing the Kings in the first round for the second-straight year. While the Oilers got past LA last year, that series featured its fair share of drama. The Kings made a massive move to reshape their roster at the deadline. They brought in Vladislav Gavrikov and Joonas Korpisalo, shipping out franchise staple Jonathan Quick in the process.

Things get underway on Monday with puck drop from Rogers Place in Edmonton.

Oilers vs Kings Series Odds

It’s no surprise to see the Oilers as such heavy favorites. They may be eighth in the Stanley Cup odds but there’s a caveat to that.

Of the seven teams ahead of Edmonton in the odds, five are from the Eastern Conference. That means only two Western Conference teams have better chances of lifting the Stanley Cup. They are the Colorado Avalanche and the Vegas Golden Knights.

It’s possible the Oilers have to play both of them if they want to be the last team standing in the NHL Playoff Bracket.

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Odds as of April 14 from DraftKings Sportsbook.

Oilers vs Kings Recent History

Los Angeles is not the same team they were during the height of their Stanley Cup runs. But they still have experience in key places on their roster. And they were good enough to give the Oilers a scare last year.

When the Kings took Game 1 last year, it raised some eyebrows. But when they went into Game 6 with a chance to eliminate the Oilers? That was stunning. Sure Edmonton avoided disaster, but the recent history could play a factor.

Oilers vs Kings: Head to Head

Edmonton split the season series with the Kings 2-2 and were actually outscored by LA 10-9.

LA took the first two games, winning 3-1 and 6-3. However, they’ve played twice in the last three weeks, with Edmonton winning 2-0 and 3-1.

Can Anyone Stop Connor McDavid?

The short answer is: probably not.

Connor McDavid is coming off of a ridiculous season. He averaged more than an assist per game, scored over 60 goals, and topped 150 points. He’s just the sixth player in history to record a 150-point season.

Connor's final tally:

64 goals, 153 points.

Absurd. pic.twitter.com/XzfJcT8iTj

— NHL (@NHL) April 14, 2023

If there’s one thing McDavid is missing though, it’s team success. And it appears to be something that’s eating at him.

It’s not that McDavid hasn’t done his share in the postseason though. Outside of his first playoff run, McDavid has been better than a point-per-game player in the three playoffs since. He had a ridiculous line of 10 goals and 23 assists in 16 games last year, and his career scoring rate in the spring would be good for a 120-point season over 82 games.

He can’t do it alone though, and if someone is going to stop him, it’ll be his own goaltending.

The 258 goals the Oilers allowed are the second-most among all 16 playoff teams. Jack Campbell has not performed produced despite his big free agency contract, and so that shines the spotlight on Stuart Skinner.

Stuart is on a ridiculous run, winning nine of his last 10 and earning a point in the one he lost. He’s been almost unbeatable lately. But there was a point where he was giving up three or four goals a game and the Oilers were still winning. Can they do that again?

Can Korpisalo Help Kings Hang With Oilers?

The Edmonton Oilers had three 100-point scorers this year and four players finished with 80 points. Anze Kopitar led the Kings with 74 points and Kevin Fiala had 72.

But that’s never been how LA wins games. Especially come playoff time.

So that means they’ll need Joonas Korpisalo to shine.

Joonas Korpisalo is thriving so far with the Kings (NHL rank since March 3):

• 6-3-1
• 1 shutout
• .926 Sv% (7th)
• .873 high-danger Sv% (5th)
• 2.03 GAA (4th)
• 8.0 goals saved above expected (6th)#GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/kaD3KosqT4

— Russell Morgan (@NHLRussell) April 11, 2023

The former Blue Jacket has been great since coming over at the deadline. He’s 6-3-1 with a .926 save percentage and a 2.03 GAA. Outside of a clunker against Vegas and Thursday against Anaheim, Korpisalo hasn’t allowed more than two goals in his other nine games with LA.

In Jonathan Quick’s three wins against the Oilers in the playoffs last year, he made 36, 31 and 24 saves.

If Korpisalo keeps standing on his head, he could have Edmonton sweating.

Oilers vs Kings Series Prediction

There is always a surprise or two in the first round of the NHL playoffs. But don’t expect it with Edmonton this year.

The talent gap is simply too big. A hot goaltending performance could steal a game or two, but the Oilers should be set. Unless Stuart Skinner flames out and the Oilers have no solution between the pipes, they’ll be off to the second round.

And expect another big series out of McDavid and Draisaitl.

The Pick: Oilers to Win Series (-220)