Kings’ Recurring Playoff Struggles vs. Oilers: What Needs to Change

This season initially brought a sense of optimism that things could finally be different for the Los Angeles Kings. They demonstrated superiority over the Edmonton Oilers during the regular season, a trend that appeared to hold true through the first two games and the initial two periods of their postseason series.

The Kings were determined to break their three-year pattern of being eliminated by the Oilers in the playoffs. Securing victories in Games 1 and 2 on home ice suggested this goal was within reach. However, Los Angeles subsequently faced a dramatic turn of events. The team suffered four consecutive defeats, notably relinquishing third-period leads in two instances, resulting in the same outcome that has concluded their seasons every year since 2022.

This latest playoff exit at the hands of the Oilers might feel like the most painful one yet. The conditions seemed ideal for the Kings. They were excelling defensively against an Edmonton offense considered top-heavy, lacking significant depth beyond its premier players. Furthermore, Los Angeles`s offense, which had improved considerably late in the season, was matched against an Edmonton blue line that was missing key shutdown defenseman Mattias Ekholm.

In the goaltending department, the Kings appeared to hold a clear advantage. Darcy Kuemper is recognized as a Vezina Trophy finalist, while Stuart Skinner had shown significant inconsistency throughout the season.

Despite all these favorable factors, Los Angeles could not overcome the challenge posed by the Oilers. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and their teammates once again proved too formidable for the Kings.

Without resorting to tired clichés about repetition and expected outcomes, it is undeniable that significant changes are required for Los Angeles moving forward. Whether these involve adjustments to personnel, coaching philosophy, or how players are utilized, let`s examine the key issues that plagued the Kings and what needs to be addressed.

Roster Construction

This particular series highlighted a contrast between the Kings` perceived depth and the Oilers` undeniable star power. The Kings` depth initially looked like the safer bet in the first two games, but then Edmonton`s firepower truly ignited. McDavid, Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard took control of the series from late in Game 3 onwards and maintained their momentum.

The Kings` challenge isn`t merely the absence of a player like McDavid – that`s a problem shared by 30 other NHL teams. The issue is Los Angeles lacks a sufficient number of truly dynamic offensive threats – players capable of consistently creating scoring opportunities on their own.

Adrian Kempe is a strong shooter, as demonstrated multiple times in the series. Kevin Fiala possesses skilled playmaking abilities in the offensive zone. Anze Kopitar remains one of hockey`s premier two-way forwards, and Quinton Byfield is developing along a similar path. However, none of these players can match the instantaneous offensive generation provided by McDavid or Draisaitl.

Over the final four games of the series, McDavid and Draisaitl collectively accumulated 14 points. Bouchard contributed a total of four goals in the crucial Game 3 and Game 4 victories.

For the Kings to truly capitalize on the championship window they`ve established, General Manager Rob Blake must aggressively pursue truly elite offensive playmakers. Such players are rare, but recent Stanley Cup champions (like the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights) have successfully acquired impact players through significant personnel moves.

This coming offseason, the NHL salary cap is set to see another substantial increase, potentially facilitating more activity in free agency and the trade market. The Kings should be actively involved in this process as they aim to strengthen their roster for the highly probable scenario of facing the Oilers again in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Strategic Approach

Another significant issue for the Kings in this series was their handling of third-period leads, particularly in Games 3 and 4. It is understandable for a team to play to its identity, and Los Angeles was highly effective at shutting down opponents with late leads during the regular season. However, this strategy becomes much more challenging to execute against an Oilers team capable of scoring in the blink of an eye.

After narrowly escaping a late-game collapse by adopting a defensive posture in Game 1, the Kings employed a similar strategy to varying degrees in Games 3 and 4 when holding leads entering the third period. Following competitive first 40 minutes where the Kings were often under pressure but capitalized on Edmonton`s shorthanded defense, they attempted to rely on their two-way forwards and experienced defensemen to protect the lead.

This approach proved ineffective. McDavid and the rest of the Oilers` top offensive players exploited the space given to them as Los Angeles struggled unsuccessfully to defend their own zone in front of Kuemper.

Statistics from Natural Stat Trick clearly illustrate the Kings` third-period struggles in Games 3 and 4:

This kind of conservative, shutdown approach with late leads has been a characteristic of the Kings, dating back to Todd McLellan`s tenure as coach from 2019 to 2024. When Jim Hiller took over, he maintained this identity. While this approach has resulted in many regular-season wins for the Kings, it clearly has limitations when attempting to close out games against one of the Western Conference`s most potent offensive teams.

It`s rational that a team like the Kings would want to minimize risks late in games against a team as lethal as the Oilers. However, Los Angeles likely could have maintained a more aggressive offensive mindset to keep Edmonton on their heels in critical, high-pressure situations.

Player Deployment

To his credit, Coach Hiller did attempt to leverage the depth advantage his team seemingly possessed in the series. Nine different Kings players averaged over 20 minutes of ice time per game, compared to only six Oilers players who reached that threshold. The challenge for Los Angeles was that many of these players, particularly the veteran defensemen, were not effective enough during their shifts.

For example, Drew Doughty and Mikey Anderson were assigned the difficult task of matching up against McDavid`s line. Despite their strong performance as a pairing in the regular season, they struggled in this specific matchup. The Oilers controlled over 75% of the expected goals with McDavid on the ice against Doughty and Anderson at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Doughty and Anderson weren`t the only defensive pair facing difficulties. The other veteran pairing of Joel Edmundson and Vladislav Gavrikov also posted subpar results at five-on-five.

These outcomes raise questions about why the highly skilled and mobile (though young) pairing of Jordan Spence and Brandt Clarke wasn`t utilized more frequently. Those two averaged just 7:31 and 12:47 minutes per game, respectively. Coaches are often hesitant to deploy young defensemen in critical moments, especially in the playoffs, but this pairing could have provided valuable offensive contributions from the backend, given they combined for 61 points in the regular season.

At a minimum, Spence and Clarke could have absorbed more minutes earlier in games, potentially allowing players like Doughty and Anderson to conserve energy for crucial late-game situations. While the younger defensemen might have faced similar struggles, they arguably deserved a more extended opportunity than they received.