Los Angeles Kings (47-25-10, third in the Pacific Division) vs. Edmonton Oilers (50-23-9, second in the Pacific Division)
Edmonton, Alberta; Monday, 10 p.m. EDT
NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Oilers host series opener
BOTTOM LINE: The Edmonton Oilers host the Los Angeles Kings to start the Western Conference first round. The teams meet Wednesday for the fifth time this season. The teams tied the regular season series 2-2. In their last regular season matchup on Nov. 16, the Kings won 3-1. Adrian Kempe led the Kings with three goals.
Edmonton is 50-23-9 overall and 19-6-1 against the Pacific Division. The Oilers are first in the NHL with 90 power-play goals.
Los Angeles has a 47-25-10 record overall and a 15-8-3 record in Pacific Division games. The Kings rank 10th in the league with 274 total goals (averaging 3.3 per game).
TOP PERFORMERS: Leon Draisaitl has scored 52 goals with 76 assists for the Oilers. Zach Hyman has six goals and two assists over the last 10 games.
Kevin Fiala has 23 goals and 49 assists for the Kings. Kempe has scored seven goals with four assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Oilers: 9-0-1, averaging 4.2 goals, 6.4 assists, 3.2 penalties and 6.4 penalty minutes while giving up 1.8 goals per game.
Kings: 5-5-0, averaging 2.9 goals, 4.5 assists, 3.4 penalties and 8.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game.
INJURIES: Oilers: Ryan Murray: out (back), Oscar Klefbom: out (shoulder), Mike Smith: out (undisclosed).
Kings: Kevin Fiala: day to day (lower body), Alexander Edler: day to day (upper body), Gabriel Vilardi: out (upper-body).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
