PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers vs. Kings (Game 1)

The Edmonton Oilers open the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place with Game 1 of a best-of-seven series against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.
You can watch the game on Sportsnet & CBC or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.
Video: OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game 1 vs LAK 05.02.22

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS
GAME DAY VIDEO
OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game 1 vs. LAK
PRE-GAME RAW | Coach Woodcroft
PRE-GAME RAW | Draisaitl
PRE-GAME RAW | Bouchard
PRE-GAME RAW | Nurse
RECENT VIDEOS
THE PANEL | Round 1 Preview
RAW | Connor McDavid 05.01.22
RAW | Mike Smith 05.01.22
RAW | Darnell Nurse 05.01.22
RAW | Coach Woodcroft 05.01.22
BY THE NUMBERS
Oilers Statistics
Kings Statistics
Stats Comparison
Game Notes
RECENT BLOGS & ARTICLES
BLOG: Sunday's Pre-Playoff Practice
BLOG: Playing for the playoffs
BLOG: Woodcroft forges his own path
VIEWING INFORMATION
You can watch Monday's game on Sportsnet & CBC at 8:00 PM MT.
News and notes from Oilers practice at Downtown Community Arena on Sunday, where Mike Smith talked about adversity helping Edmonton enter the playoffs primed for a long run and Coach Woodcroft getting his first chance as a head coach in the post-season.
**>> READ MORE IN THE INSIDE THE OILERS BLOG**
EDMONTON, AB - It's been 1,821 days, but the Edmonton Oilers will finally play another Stanley Cup Playoff game in front of the Rogers Place faithful.
"I think it's going to be loud. It's going to be rowdy," Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said. "You could sense in 2017 that the people enjoy and love playoff hockey here, and so do we as players. We're all looking forward to it. We obviously need our fans. We've been playing really well at home, and they've been a big part of that. They push us and stick to us, so we're excited to get going."
The 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs was the first appearance of Draisaitl's young career, but it provided the German with a taste of what a post-season run can be like in Edmonton.
The 26-year-old centre's had his fair share of personal playoff success, with 11 goals and 16 assists in 21 games. Draisaitl will be drawing on that success to help manage the energy generated tonight by over 18,000 screaming Oilers fans.
"I was probably more nervous in 2017. It was my first playoffs, but there's going to be some nerves of course," Draisaitl said. "You get a couple of shifts to get rid of it and get right back into your game, so it's an exciting day. We haven't had fans in the playoffs for a long time, so I'm sure it'll be a pretty good atmosphere."
Video: PRE-RAW | Leon Draisaitl 05.02.22
For others like post-season rookie Evan Bouchard, this will be his first taste of both non-bubble playoff hockey and a raucous Rogers Place.
"I think no fans is something no one had really seen before, so it was different," Evan Bouchard. "You had to get yourself pumped up, but I think these playoffs with fans here, it's a different animal in this building. I'm really excited to see it."
DECISIONS, DECISIONS
With just hours remaining until the Oilers hit the ice for Game 1 of their series against the Los Angeles Kings, Head Coach Jay Woodcroft is keeping his lineup card close to his vest.
The first question tonight will be the availability of the Oilers top defenceman Darnell Nurse. The rearguard has been out of the lineup since leaving the April 22 contest against the Colorado Avalanche. Nurse has skated in full for the last two practices on a pairing with Cody Ceci, but whether or not he will be in the lineup will come down to the wire according to the Oilers coach.
"We'll see," Woodcroft said. "He'll be a game-time decision."
Video: PRE-RAW | Darnell Nurse 05.02.22
The Oilers defenceman coyly echoed the coach's "we'll see" comment during the pre-game media availability this morning. Nurse would be a big addition for the Blue & Orange as he has churned out 25:03 minutes per game on the Oilers backend this year. His absence or insertion could have a domino effect on the Oilers line-up and whether we'll see an 11-and-7 or 12-and-6 forward-to-defenceman ratio on Monday night.
"We've shown a flexibility with either," Woodcroft said. "One of the things when you go 11-and-7 is it's more ice time for everybody, not just the big guys (McDavid and Draisaitl) so to speak. More guys get involved in the game and it might be an option for us tonight. We'll see."
BIG MOMENTS, BIGGER BODIES
When the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin, the whistles get put away and the physicality ramps up. The post-season becomes a time for the maybe less-heralded players to become fan favourites -- and those that crash and bang and bring the home crowd to a roar are always a safe bet.
On the Oilers, you can look to players like Zach Kassian and Warren Foegele as players built for playoff-style hockey.
"Both have had some really good moments since I came up," Woodcroft said on the two forwards. "Kassian has a momentum-changing, physical dimension where he has the ability to close fast and get in on the forecheck and create turnovers with his physicality. I think people know when he's on the ice and that he's coming. Because of that forechecking pressure, it leads to rushed plays or turnovers."
Video: PRE-RAW | Jay Woodcroft 05.02.22
Kassian has a history of being a playoff wrecking ball, racking up 14 hits in four games in last season's bubble and 30 hits in 13 games during the Oilers 2016-17 run. The nasty forward also chipped in with three clutch goals in 2017, including a shorthanded beauty against the San Jose Sharks.
His 6-foot-2 counterpart Warren Foegele is no stranger to the playoff game. The 26-year-old has suited up for 33 NHL post-season games, notching seven goals, five assists and 60 hits.
"Warren is a direct, straight ahead, physical type of player who does his best work from the top of the circles down," Woodcroft said when describing Foegele's game.
The nastiness, along with the familiar opponent, can raise the temperature of a series very quickly. The willingness of his squad to stick up for a teammate when tempers are boiling over is one aspect of the Oilers game that coach Woodcroft has been a fan of as of late.
"It's one of the things I've been most impressed with our group of players, it feels like there is a brotherhood in our dressing room," Woodcroft said. "When one of your brothers is in trouble, doesn't mean you have to go and do things out of character, but we want that pack mentality of making sure that nobody is in a spot that is uncomfortable for them, and we'll do it together."
>> VIEW THE OILERS GAME 1 PROJECTED LINEUP
-- Mike Arcuri, EdmontonOilers.com
OILERS vs. KINGS
STREAM: 8:00 p.m. MT; televised on Sportsnet & CBC
Oilers Team Scope
The Edmonton Oilers concluded the regular season in second place in the Pacific Division with a 49-27-6 record and enter the Stanley Cup Playoffs having won their last three games and seven of eight contests.
Over their final 25 games of the regular season, the Oilers went 19-4-2 and owned the third-best win percentage in the NHL (.684) with a 26-9-3 record since Head Coach Jay Woodcroft assumed the mantle of head coach on Feb. 10. The bench boss kept the picture small in the locker room and rallied his side from 10 points out of second place in the division at the time to a 104-point finish and 49 wins -- the fifth time in franchise history Edmonton has recorded as many wins as they did in 2021-22.
"There's something to be said about the Presidents' Trophy and being the top team in the league, but I feel like we've been playing playoff hockey for some time and there's something to be said about that too," goaltender Mike Smith, who won nine straight starts to finish the regular season, said. "It's something that we've talked about going into the playoffs. You want to be playing at the top of your game, and we talk about it not being a light switch you switch on and off when you want.
"Winning is earned, and the confidence is earned with the way your team is playing. We feel like we've been playing some of our best hockey here in the last couple of months and we want to take that right into the playoffs."
Video: THE PANEL | Round 1 Preview
The Oilers enter the playoffs boasting Art Ross Trophy winner Connor McDavid, a 55-goal-and-assist threat in Leon Draisaitl, the NHL's hottest netminder in Mike Smith, and depth scoring throughout their forwards that includes Zach Hyman and Evander Kane. That isn't including a solid and resilient d-core that has the potential to see Darnell Nurse return to the fold after he participated in full at Sunday's practice following an injury back on April 22.
Edmonton looks to take lessons learned from their two previous trips to the playoffs in the last two seasons and win their first playoff series since 2016-17 when the club lost in seven games to the Anaheim Ducks in the Second Round.
Kings Team Scope
The Los Angeles Kings finished the regular season 44-27-11 record and are gearing up for their first foray back into the post-season since the 2017-18 campaign when they lost to NHL expansion side the Vegas Golden Knights in the First Round.
Los Angeles went 5-0-1 in its final six games and owned the second-best road record in the Western Conference at 23-11-7 during the regular season while being led offensively by the ever-present Anze Kopitar with 67 points (19 G, 48 A) in 81 games.
Only six players from their last trip to the playoffs remain members of the Kings (Dustin Brown, Drew Doughty, Alex Iafallo, Adrian Kempe, Anze Kopitar and Jonathan Quick). The Kings are a young side with the fifth-youngest roster (26.37 years) in the NHL, including 2020 second-overall pick Quinton Byfield and 20-year-old Arthur Kaliyev, but the experience of their veterans that include Brown, Kopitar and Quick include 249 games of playoff experience with the Kings and being a part of two Stanley Cup-winning teams (2011-12, 13-14).
Video: RAW | Mike Smith 05.01.22
Edmonton's opposition will be sure to rally around Brown, the Kings alternate captain who's spent 18 seasons in Los Angeles and played in a franchise-record 1,296 games, after the announcement that he'll retire at the conclusion of this campaign. In 85 career playoff games, Brown has tallied 47 points (19G, 28A).
Defenceman Drew Doughty, a former Norris Trophy winner and member of those Kings cup-winning teams, will miss the entirety of the playoffs after undergoing wrist surgery in April for an injury suffered in early March.
By The Numbers
The Oilers have won five of the previous seven meetings in the playoffs between these teams, including three straight series wins... The Oilers are 24-12 all-time versus the Kings in the playoffs and 7-1 at home against LA in the playoffs since 1990... The Oilers went 3-1-0 in four games against the Kings in the regular season, scoring and allowing 12 goals... The Kings are 11-21 all-time on the road in Game 1 of a best-of-seven series... Edmonton is 24-21 and 13-8 on home ice in Game 1 of a best-of-seven series...
The Oilers finished the regular season 61-for-235 with the man advantage, ranking third with a 26.0 power-play percentage... Leon Draisaitl finished with 24 power-play goals this season, second-most in the NHL and the most in a season in Oilers franchise history... Leon Draisaitl was the first player with 55+ goals and 55+ assists in a season since 1995-96 (Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux)... Connor McDavid had an NHL-high 123 points (44G, 79A) in 80 games this season to win his fourth Art Ross Trophy... McDavid had a point in five straight games to finish the season (2G, 11A)...
Video: RAW | Connor McDavid 05.01.22
Duncan Keith will try to become the first defenceman to win the Stanley Cup four times since Nicklas Lidstrom... Keith has 86 points (18G, 68A) in 135 career playoff games... Zach Hyman set career-highs in points (54), goals (27) and assists (27) in 2021-22 and has 13 points (5G, 8A) in 32 career playoff games... Hyman has one goal in each of his five career playoff appearances... Evander Kane has 13 points (6G, 7A) in 29 career playoff games, making his last playoff appearance in 2019 with the Sharks... Mike Smith's .931 save percentage in the playoffs is second-best all-time among goalies with a minimum 15 games played in the post-season...
Anze Kopitar needs one goal to tie Justin Williams for fifth-most in Kings playoff history and three assists to tie Luc Robitaille for third-most in franchise history... Kopitar finished the season on a four-game point streak (1G, 4A) but had one assist in four games vs. Edmonton this season... Philip Danault led all players during the 2021 Playoffs with 273 faceoffs won as a member of the Montreal Canadiens... Since Doughty's injury in early March, the defender has led all Kings players in average time-on-ice (22:55)... Jonathan Quick is 46-39 with a 2.23 goals-against average, .922 save percentage and nine shutouts in 85 career playoff starts... His nine playoff shutouts are tied for the most by a U.S.-born goalie, and his 46 wins are second-most (Tom Barrasso - 61)...
Injury Report
OILERS - Oscar Klefbom (shoulder) is on IR; Kyle Turris (back) is on IR.
KINGS - Drew Doughty (wrist) is on IR; Sean Walker (torn ACL/MCL) is on IR.
-- Jamie Umbach, EdmontonOilers.com