EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid acknowledges it is not easy to defeat the same team three times in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in three consecutive seasons, but he and the Edmonton Oilers will try to do exactly that when they face the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference First Round.
Game 1 of the best-of-7 takes will be held at Rogers Place on Monday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, TVAS2, ESPN2, BSSC).
“We’ve never done it, [but] we’re going to find out,” McDavid said Saturday. “I think just the familiarity, nobody is going to surprise anyone with their game. We know what they want to do, we know what we want to do. It’s just about who’s going to do it better that’s what it comes down to.”
Edmonton eliminated Los Angeles in seven games in 2022, rallying from a 3-2 series deficit by winning Game 6 on the road and Game 7 at home. Last season, the Oilers won in six games, taking three straight after falling behind 2-1 in the series and 3-0 in Game 4.
The Oilers won three of four against the Kings this season.
“There should be no surprises here,” said McDavid, the Edmonton captain. “I would be shocked if they didn’t play a 1-3-1 (defensive system).”
Both the Oilers and Kings experienced a coaching change this season. Edmonton hired Kris Knoblauch to take over for Jay Woodcroft on Nov. 12; Los Angeles replaced Todd McLellan with Jim Hiller on Feb. 2.
Despite the change, the Kings maintained their tight defensive system, clogging up the neutral zone in an effort to generate turnovers. They won six of their last eight games and finished third in the Pacific Division, one point ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights.
“I think they’re trying to do similar things,” McDavid said. “Sometimes just to change a voice is what they’re after, and it obviously seemed to work for them. They went on a nice little run to get themselves into the playoffs.”
Edmonton will be counting on its playoff experience in this series. The Oilers lost in the second round to the Golden Knights last season, and in the conference final to the Colorado Avalanche in 2022. Both Vegas and Colorado went on to win the Stanley Cup.
McDavid has 75 points (29 goals, 46 assists) in 49 NHL playoff games. He had 132 points (32 goals, 100 assists) in 76 games this season and says he feels as equipped as he’s ever been heading into the playoffs.
“I think just understand the playoffs, understanding playoff series and understanding playoff games and the ebbs and flows, the momentum shifts, understanding the big moments,” he said. “I know that’s all cliche, but it is part of it. We’ve learned a lot of lessons from our many failures, and that’s what great teams do. That’s what great people do -- they learn from their mistakes and they learn from their failures and put that into, hopefully, ultimately going all the way.
“Sports in general is very mental. Hockey is no different, playoffs are no different. You have to be focused, you have to stick with it and that’s all between the ears.”
McDavid knows the Kings will be paying close attention to him throughout the series and he will likely see a lot of Anze Kopitar and Phillip Danault, their two best defensive centers. McDavid will likely get a heavy dose of defenseman Drew Doughty as well.
“They got good centermen, good, solid two-way centermen; we’ve gone against them a lot,” McDavid said. “Obviously, Kopitar and Danault are two of the best two-way guys in the game and they make it tough on you. With that being said, we know what to expect.”
The Oilers entered the season considered Stanley Cup contenders. After a slow start that saw them fall to the bottom of the League standings, they turned things around and were among the elite teams over the final three quarters.
Edmonton was able to grind out wins during the regular season, particularly during a 16-game run that began Dec. 21 and ended at Vegas on Feb. 6, one shy of an NHL record.
“I think this team knows them [Kings] very well,” Knoblauch said. “I think it’s important we have our reminders, but everyone knows their identity and their systems, but I think what’s important is our team finding our best game, us playing our best. To do that, we can’t alter our game too much.
“Obviously there’s things that we have to do to limit the strengths of the L.A. Kings, but we want to play to our strengths.”
