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The Edmonton Oilers aim to eliminate the Kings from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Game 6 of their first-round series at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday night.
You can watch the game on Sportsnet & CBC or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.
Subscribe to Oilers+ to unlock the Pre-Game Show that will begin at 7:30 p.m. MT, along with more exclusive live and behind-the-scenes content.

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS

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INSIDE THE OILERS

News and notes from Oilers practice at Rogers Place on Friday.
>> READ MORE IN THE INSIDE THE OILERS BLOG

PRE-GAME REPORT

LOS ANGELES, CA - The wait is over, and the message is clear.
Amidst all the buzz that's built up over a three-day break around tonight's opportunity for the Edmonton Oilers to eliminate the Los Angeles Kings, the Blue & Orange enter Crypto.com Arena for Game 6 of their first-round series against the Kings on Saturday night with a concise call to action that follows the main theme of their season:
Win another game on the road to eliminate Los Angeles and advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"All I know is what's before us right now and the challenge that is immediately in front of us, and our task is to win a game here on the road," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said.
"We're single-minded in our mindset, single-minded in our purpose, which is to walk out of here with a win today and end this series."
The Oilers took Game 5 at Rogers Place 6-3 back on Tuesday to earn their opportunity tonight to put an end to this series, but when your back's against the wall like Los Angeles, you can expect nothing but their best effort as they try to stave off elimination.
"I think the fourth game of a series is always the hardest game to win because it means the other team is fighting for its playoff life," Woodcroft said. "I know they're going to try and play the best game of the year."
"We have an opportunity to finish a team out," Leon Draisaitl said. "We expect their best game. More importantly, we expect our best game."
The Oilers understand the Kings' position from first-hand experience, having been down 3-2 in last season's first-round series before surviving in Game 6 and winning the series in Game 7 on home ice.
But it's a different year and a different series for Woodcroft, who understands the comparisons but is cutting the outside discussion off at the Oilers locker room.

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      PRE-RAW | Jay Woodcroft 04.29.23

      "For us, our focus is on making sure that we have all 20 of us buying into our game plan and firing on every cylinder," he said. "We understand the things the other team does well, and we have a plan to play our best game."
      "We're excited about the opportunity that we put ourselves in here," Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "Obviously we've had a chance to get a few days and refresh our bodies and our minds, so we know it's going to be a quick game to start for sure. We've got to prepare for that."
      Edmonton is placing a strong emphasis on its start tonight knowing from Game 4 how fast Los Angeles can come out of the gate.
      The Kings led 3-0 after 20 minutes before the Oilers were able to tie it late in regulation and win through Zach Hyman in overtime, and they'll be keen not to rely on their comebacks by having a better opening 20 minutes in Game 6.
      "Obviously, they're going to be a desperate team, but we need to be able to match it and just match their energy level," Nugent-Hopkins said. "I think especially to start, I thought in Game 4 down here they came out really fast and pushed us back on our heels and we can't let that happen tonight.
      "We're a refreshed team, they're a refreshed team, so we shouldn't let that happen tonight. We still need to play with a level of desperation in our group."

      ROAD READY

      To the road team goes the advantage, it appears.
      Earlier this week, the road team in this first round won their 10th straight game for the first time in Stanley Cup Playoff history when the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied from three goals down to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-4 in overtime of Game 4 of their Eastern Conference series.
      The road team has won 23-of-43 playoff games so far in this first round, and the Oilers proved over the course of the regular season that they're a team that doesn't mind playing the visitor.
      "I don't think it necessarily matters for a group. We try to play the same way every night and try to bring the same game, whether it's at home or on the road," Draisaitl said. "Obviously, tonight is a big one for us, looking to bring our best game. We're well aware that they're going to bring their best game, so we've got to make sure we're going to bring ours."
      Edmonton's 27 road wins this season were the fourth most in the NHL -- an impressive number which Woodcroft attributes to his team's simple approach away from home and the maturity of the group.

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          PRE-RAW | Leon Draisaitl 04.29.23

          "I just think that we're a team that's at a mature life stage," he said. "We're a team that we try and play the same way no matter where that game is being played -- neutral site, home, away, or Hudson Bay -- I've said that a few times, but it doesn't matter when we're playing our game; when we're asserting our game on the other team. I think we're a tough team to beat and we've been able to do that both at home and on the road."
          Draisaitl debates that there isn't as big of a skill gap between one team's top line and the other team's fourth line anymore, leading to the home team having less of a direct advantage when it comes to directing matchups.
          "Even with last line change, I think the league is so good nowadays that the matchups aren't the most important thing anymore," he said. "I truly believe that every third, fourth line on every team is good enough to play against every first line. I don't know if that has anything to do with it, but hopefully, it doesn't matter tonight."
          Draisaitl continued: "Our fourth line can play against any line, and I'm sure they would say the same thing… I think every fourth line in the league can play with any line nowadays. They're all good skaters, they've all got good hockey sense and they're hard to play against. Yeah, I don't think it's that big of a factor anymore."

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              PRE-RAW | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 04.29.23

              LINEUP NOTES

              Evander Kane wasn't present at the morning practice, but the 31-year-old is still expected to be in the Oilers lineup on the top line tonight alongside Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
              Kane has played in every post-season game this series so far for Edmonton, contributing three goals and an assist in five games.
              Mattias Janmark appeared as the placeholder for Kane on the top line as he continues to work his way back from blocking a shot with his right foot in the first period of Game 1 of this series.
              "I think everyone is battling something," Janmark said. "I don't know [if I'm ready], but I want to play… you have to look and see how you feel and see how it progresses, so we'll see. We'll see tonight."

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                  PRE-RAW | Mattias Janmark 04.29.23

                  The Swedish forward's place in the lineup tonight went unconfirmed by Woodcroft and can be considered a game-time decision.
                  "I think Matthias is veteran player, a great penalty killer and somebody who plays with a level of abrasiveness," Woodcroft said. "He's a good hockey player and a good member of our team."
                  -- Jamie Umbach, EdmontonOilers.com

                  PREVIEW

                  OILERS vs. KINGS
                  STREAM: 8:00 p.m. MT; televised on Sportsnet West
                  Oilers Team Scope
                  The Oilers have the first of two chances on Saturday night to close out their first round series and eliminate the Los Angeles Kings from the playoffs for a second straight year.
                  Last year, it was the Kings who were in the Oilers position -- up 3-2 in the series with a chance to eliminate their opponent in Game 6. Edmonton rallied with back-to-back victories to advance to the second round and eventually made their way to the Western Conference final.
                  The Oilers have witnessed what can happen if you don't close out a team and their focus lies on playing their best game of the series on Saturday in Los Angeles.
                  "I think where our focus lies is on making sure that we bring our best game of the series here in game number six," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said "We understand what the challenge is, we understand where we're playing the game, we understand the strengths of the other team, but in the end, we think if we bring our best game we're a tough team to beat."
                  Edmonton took the 3-2 matchup advantage courtesy of a stellar performance at home in Game 5. The Oilers offence continued their offensive breakthrough against the Kings, scoring six times in the game and chasing Joonas Korpisalo from the crease.
                  Nick Bjugstad scored twice for the Blue & Orange while Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Brett Kulak, and Evander Kane notched the rest of the offence in the six-goal performance. In net, Stuart Skinner rebounded from his Game 4 setback that saw the 24-year-old rookie pulled after allowing three first period goals. The Edmonton product turned aside 25 of 28 Kings attempts to pick up the win and set the stage for Saturday's elimination game.

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                      RAW | Warren Foegele 04.28.23

                      Kings Team Scope
                      The Kings have had a few days off to prepare as they look to flip last year's script on the Oilers.
                      Los Angeles has shown they can be a persistent group all series, continuously finding ways to come back from deficits like they did in Game 1, 2, and 3 -- while nearly coming back from a three goal first period disadvantage in Game 5.
                      "It was overwhelming early in the game, but when we made it 3-2 we had an opportunity to get back in," Kings Head Coach Todd McLellan said after the loss. "That fourth one really hurt us, and then from there, there was no catching up. That obviously wasn't good enough, it wasn't close to good enough. It probably doesn't get you a win in Game 2 of the regular season. So, move on. We have to bring our best to Game 6 to even have an opportunity at the series. And I'm confident our group can do that."
                      Adrian Kempe continued his excellent performance in the series, scoring his fourth goal and adding assist to push his post season point total to seven. Alex Iafallo notches his third goal of the first round and Quentin Byfield scored his first late in the game to cap off the Kings Game 5 offence at Rogers Place.
                      The biggest story of the game was Joonas Korpisalo, who was pulled by coach McLellan in the second period after allowing four goals on 19 Oilers shots. He was replaced by Pheonix Copley who stopped six of eight Edmonton attempts in relief. Los Angeles had held the Oilers to just 10 goals in the first three games of their first round matchup, but the Blue & Orange's offence has marked the Kings for 11-goals against in the last two games.
                      With the Kings playoff lives on the line and a loud Crypto.com Arena crowd, the Oilers know that the Kings will put the last two games behind them and give the visiting Oil all they can handle.
                      "Obviously, they're going to have a huge push. You expect them to have the best game of the series so far," Darnell Nurse said. "So for us, we have got to match that same intensity and the same push on our end. It's important to go in there with a focus, just worrying about one game and taking care of what we can take care of tomorrow, so that's a singular focus for us."

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                          RAW | Darnell Nurse 04.28.23

                          By The Numbers
                          Through five games, the Oilers have outscored the Kings 20-16 with a 186-157 shot advantage and an 85-69 high-danger chances for advantage... Edmonton's power play is currently operating at 57.1 per cent, leading all NHL Playoff teams... The Oilers also have the advantage at the faceoff circle, operating at 53.8 per cent... The Oilers have led or been tied for 84.2 per cent of the series, trailing only 51:09 in five games...
                          Edmonton is 14-8 all-time in Game 6's and are 6-2 while on the road... The Oilers have lost only once in 13 series when leading a series 3-2 and are 5-0 when they begin those series on home ice... Edmonton's only series loss when leading 3-2 came in 1989 when they lost three straight games to the Kings... Edmonton has scored a power-play goal in all five games this postseason... The Oilers are 15-for-33 on the man advantage against the Kings since the start of last year's postseason...
                          Edmonton has won eight of their last nine road games spanning back to March 18 and have outscored their opponents by a 39-23 margin... Mattias Janmark leads the Oilers in points in series-clinching games with nine (3G, 6A) in 12 games... Leon Draisaitl is second with six points in four games (1G, 5A)... Brett Kulak and Warren Foegele have never lost a series-clinching game, both sporting a perfect 5-0 record... With a point in Game 6, Leon Draisaitl would become the third-fastest player in postseason history to record 70 points, trailing only Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky... Evan Bouchard is just the second Oilers defenceman to record eight points in a single playoff series, with Paul Coffey achieving the feat four times...
                          Injury Report
                          OILERS - Mattias Janmark (foot) is day-to-day.
                          KINGS - Blake Lizotte (lower body) is day-to-day.
                          -- Michael Arcuri, EdmontonOilers.com