Los Angeles Kings vs. Edmonton Oilers: Stanley Cup Playoffs, Game 2 Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 5/4/2022

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Western Conference First Round, Game 2 -- Kings lead 1-0

Time: 10 p.m. ET

Venue: Rogers Place, Edmonton, AB

Where to watch: ESPN2, Sportsnet, Bally Sports Southern California

DraftKings: Oilers -195, Kings +160

BetMGM: Oilers -200, Kings +165

Caesars: Oilers -200, Kings +170

The Los Angeles Kings had no business making it to the playoffs, exceeding everyone’s expectations by a country mile, only to go into Edmonton in Game 1 and pull off the 4-3 upset against the Oilers.

Game 2 is in Edmonton on Wednesday, and man, let me tell you, I’d be really concerned if I’m the home team because there shouldn’t be any reason why the Kings are up 1-0 series. The only reason I can think of is the play of Mike Smith, the goalie who will never stop aging but sometimes has moments where it shows he’s 41 years old.

Phillip Danault’s go-ahead goal late in the third period gave the Kings the 4-3 lead and the eventual series lead, but not before Smith did … whatever in the world he did prior to that to either make the save or completely screw up.

"I was just trying to make something happen; obviously trying to do too much there," Smith said. "In a tight game like that you can't afford to make mistakes like that. It ended up costing us the game. Obviously disappointed, but it's one game and we move on."

Nonetheless, the Kings have done more than I think anyone would have expected and the fact they came away with a split is probably enough of a win for them. The fact that you can go into Game 2, knowing Jonathan Quick turned back the clock and put an incredible show reminiscent of 2012.

"I think obviously no matter how it's ending, if you have one more goal, that's the best ending," Danault said. "We stuck with it. They came back in the game and they had a good PP. I think we showed the character again tonight and we stuck with it and big win."

What was most surprising was the Kings had an answer for every single thing the Oilers threw at them. Whether it was Connor McDavid slicing through the entire Kings lineup and scoring a highlight-reel goal, the Kings kept calm and proceeded to go blow for blow.

"There's lots of emotion with fans back in the building and I thought we just didn't handle it all that well; they got the jump on us," McDavid said. "I thought we did a great job of getting ourselves back in the game and giving ourselves a chance. Ultimately it's one bounce. We didn't have a great start. We gave up a few chances and found ourselves down by two. It wasn't a good enough start in our home building. It's something to work on."

And it’s not like it’s the stars making all the plays. The Kings’ depth has been getting them this far all season. Trevor Moore opened the scoring, and then Alex Iafallo added the second goal five minutes later.

"I thought we did a good job, kind of like we have all year, just leaning on our leadership," Moore said. "You know those guys are going to have pushes. With two of the best players in the world, they're going to have their moments. I thought 'Quicky' made huge saves when we needed them and did a good job."

Part of me feels the Oilers know they can’t afford to go to L.A. down, and the true mettle of McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will be on display. If they don’t takeover and win this game, things may go haywire. Oilers win 5-3 

Kings are 14-5 after allowing three goals or more in consecutive games.

Kings are 44-63 against division opponents the past three seasons.

Oilers are 21-6 against division opponents this season.

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