Los Angeles Kings vs. Edmonton Oilers: Stanley Cup Playoffs, Game 1 Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 5/2/2022

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Western Conference First Round, Game 1

Time: 10 p.m. ET

Venue: Rogers Place, Edmonton, AB

Where to watch: ESPN2, Bally Sports West, Sportsnet, TVAS, CBC

DraftKings: Oilers -195, Kings +160

BetMGM: Oilers -190, Kings +155

Caesars: Oilers -200, Kings +170

The Edmonton Oilers are back in the playoffs with a home crowd, and it’s been forever and a day since they advanced in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. If this is the time for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to make a serious run at the Cup, it might be now.

But in order to get to that point, the Oilers are going to go through what might be a very physical, competitive series against the Los Angeles Kings with Game 1 starting Monday at Rogers Arena in Edmonton.

This is an important year for the Oilers, knowing that it’s going to be the likelihood that we’ll get a Battle of Alberta in the second round. But until we get there, it’s the beginning of redemption for McDavid and Draisaitl to get the Oilers past the first round after getting swept last year by the Winnipeg Jets … and then lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the play-in round the year prior in the Edmonton bubble.

So if there was a time, again, it’d be now.

McDavid is going to win the Art Ross Trophy for the fourth time after a career-high 123-point season, while Draisaitl had 55 goals and finished with 110 points.

"There's almost a consensus that well, it's McDavid being McDavid, that's what he does," Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. "But he's had a career high. And he's driving our team and he's playing the game the right way. He's driven to win."

The Oilers have been able to get quality play from Evander Kane since he signed a one-year deal after the ridiculousness that led him out of San Jose. No matter how you feel about Kane and his dumb decisions, Kane finished with 39 points in 43 games with the Oilers.

But it’s clear when you know there is a large discrepancy in goaltending and until Mike Smith can show that he’s absolutely the guy, It’s not like the 41-year-old goalile should be able to make things happen in a postseason, with Mikko Koskinen right behind him.

I can’t believe I’m actually thinking Jonathan Quick and Cal Petersen are better options, but alas, we are here in this situation.

The Kings are returning to the playoffs for the first time since getting swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018. Todd McLellan was the coach of the Oilers during that time, but he’ll now be with Los Angeles in what’s been a revitalizing time under a revamped core in Los Angeles.

"The two words I think that we would use around our group is 'team' and 'identity' and nobody walks into the Kings locker room worrying about themselves," McLellan said. "He worries about the team and that's what allows us to do what we did this year. We don't have 60-goal scorers, we likely don't have Hart Trophy candidates, but we've got a group that wants to play as a team night in and night out and they worry about that first and that allows us to do what we did."

But what’s interesting about the Kings is their center depth and how they’ve found scoring from anywhere. Phillip Danault has not only been a reliable shutdown option, but scored an eye-popping 27 goals this season. Adrian Kempe came out of nowhere to score a career-high 35 goals. Anze Kopitar returned back to prime form and finished just shy of 70 points.

Even though the Kings won’t have Drew Doughty, there’s plenty to like with the Kings as they try to keep things competitive in this series.

It’s going to take a little bit for the Kings to get back to playoff form. With the way McDavid and Draisaitl play, it wouldn’t shock me to see them come out aggressive in the first couple of shifts and try to make it problematic on Petersen or Quick. With the way that crowd will be on top of the opposing goalie, I like the Oilers in Game 1. Oilers win 5-3

Kings are 7-12 in Game 1 since 1996.

Kings are 43-63 against division opponents the past three seasons.

Kings are 24-36 in the first round since 1996.

Oilers are 5-11 in Game 1 since 1996.

Oilers are 50-30 after playing two consecutive division games the last three seasons.

Kings:

Andreas Athanasiou -- Anze Kopitar -- Adrian Kempe

Trevor Moore -- Phillip Danault -- Viktor Arvidsson

Alex Iafallo -- Blake Lizotte -- Dustin Brown

Carl Grundstrom -- Quinton Byfield -- Arthur Kaliyev

Alexander Edler -- Matt Roy

Jacob Moverare -- Sean Durzi

Olli Maatta -- Jordan Spence

Jonathan Quick

Oilers:

Evander Kane -- Connor McDavid -- Jesse Puljujarvi

Zach Hyman -- Leon Draisaitl -- Kailer Yamamoto

Warren Foegele -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Derek Ryan

Derick Brassard -- Ryan McLeod -- Zack Kassian

Brett Kulak -- Cody Ceci

Duncan Keith -- Evan Bouchard

Philip Broberg -- Tyson Barrie

Mike Smith