Two of the NHL’s hottest teams face off when the Los Angeles Kings visit the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night.
The Oilers have won five of their previous six outings. Meanwhile, the Kings had won five straight prior to falling to the Calgary Flames 2-1 on Saturday.
Despite the Kings outshooting the Flames 32-18, rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf held Los Angeles to just one goal.
“I think we came out really good in the first 10 minutes and we had some really good looks.” Kings lone goal scorer Jacob Moverare said following the loss.
“They have a good goalie over there, so he made some key saves. I think we could’ve maybe scored one or two more, but it happens. They have a good goalie.”
Moverare’s goal was his first of the season.
Monday’s matchup with the Oilers represents the third of five-game road swing for the Kings, who are just 10-9-4 on the road, in comparison to 14-2-1 at home.
The Kings and Oilers possess different strengths.
The Kings have held their opponents to three or fewer goals in 17 of their previous 18 games, while the Oilers have scored three or more goals in 14 consecutive contests.
Edmonton bounced back after seeing its four-game win streak vanish against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday with a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.
“First, you never want to lose two in a row or get on this downward trend or this frustration.” Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl stated following the victory.
“Sometimes they’re not all pretty, they’re not all perfect. They’re not all Boston (Bruins) type-games where we win 4-0 (Jan. 7). We had to find a way tonight, and we did, and that’s all that matters.”
Draisaitl, the league’s leading goal scorer failed to build upon his 31-goal tally on Saturday, but did pick up a pair of assists.
The German star has only been held goalless on back-to-back occasions three times this season.
The Oilers erased a 2-0 deficit and Zach Hyman scored the game-winning goal with 12:42 left in the third period.
Oilers superstar Connor McDavid went pointless in Saturday’s victory, and has now been held off the scoresheet in three of his past five games, after collecting a point in 12 straight prior to that.
Monday’s matchup is the Oilers’ lone home game following a four-game road trip (3-1-0), before they head back on the road for three more contests.
Edmonton is 14-7-1 at home this season.
These two Pacific-division rivals have plenty of history. The Oilers have bested the Kings in the first round of the playoffs in three consecutive seasons.
The rivalry began after the Oilers came back from a 3-2 series deficit to eliminate the Kings in seven games back in 2022. Edmonton then ousted the Kings in six games in 2023, before beating them in five in 2024.
Including the playoffs, the Oilers have won seven of the previous 10 meetings, but the Kings took down the Oilers 4-3 in overtime in their most recent clash on Dec. 28.
–Field Level Media
