LOS ANGELES KINGS NOTES:
ROUND ONE, GAME 1
APRIL 17 vs. Edmonton Oilers – 8:00 PM MT (7:00 PM PT)
Venue: Rogers Place // TV: Bally Sports West, ESPN // Radio: LA Kings iHeart Audio Network
2023 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS | ROUND ONE SCHEDULE
Game 1: at Edmonton, April 17, 7 p.m. PT Bally Sports West, ESPN, LA Kings iHeart Audio Network
Game 2: at Edmonton, April 19, 7 p.m. PT Bally Sports SoCal, ESPN, LA Kings iHeart Audio Network
Game 3: in Los Angeles, April 21, 7 p.m. PT Bally Sports SoCal, TNT, LA Kings iHeart Audio Network
Game 4: in Los Angeles, April 23, 6 p.m. PT Bally Sports West, TBS, LA Kings iHeart Audio Network
Game 5: at Edmonton, April 25, TBD KCOP-TV/13, TBD, LA Kings iHeart Audio Network Game 6: in Los Angeles, April 29, TBD, TBD, LA Kings iHeart Audio Network
Game 7*: at Edmonton, May 1, TBD Bally Sports West, TBD, LA Kings iHeart Audio Network
*If Necessary
WARM-UPS
1) The Kings travel to Edmonton to open Round One of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Following Games 1 and 2, the series will shift to Crypto.com Arena for Games 3 (April 21) and 4 (April 23).
2) The Kings and Oilers met four times during the 2022-23 regular-season, splitting the season series at two games apiece (3-1 W on Nov. 16; 6-3 W on Jan. 9; 0-2 L on March 30; 1-3 L on April 4).
3) Viktor Arvidsson led all Kings skaters in points against Edmonton this season with six (2-4=6).
4) Anze Kopitar completed the 2022-23 season as the Kings leading scorer with 74 points (28-46=74), marking the fifth consecutive season leading the club in scoring and 15th time overall, the most in team history. He joined Gordie Howe (17 times) as the only two players in NHL history to lead the same franchise in points at least 15 times.
5) The Kings aim to win Game 1 in Edmonton for the second consecutive year (4-3 W on May 2, 2022).
vs. EDMONTON PLAYOFFS ALL-TIME:
All-Time Record: 15-28
Home: 8-12
Away: 7-16
OT: 3-7
Game 1’s vs. EDM: 4-4
2021-22 Playoffs: 3-4
2022-23 Regular-Season: 2-2-0
FRANCHISE PLAYOFF LEADERS vs. EDMONTON:
Luc Robitaille – 28 GP, 31 PTS (15-16=31)
Wayne Gretzky – 22 GP, 26 PTS (7-19=26)
Bernie Nicholls – 20 GP, 23 PTS (10-13=23)
Dave Taylor – 32 GP, 20 PTS (6-14=20)
Steve Duchesne – 22 GP, 18 PTS (5-13=18)
*-denotes active roster player
LAST REGULAR-SEASON MEETING vs. EDMONTON: Apr. 4, 2023 – LAK 1 vs. EDM 3
Venue: Crypto.com Arena
LAK Goals: Arvidsson (25)
EDM Goals: Nugent-Hopkins (36), Draisaitl (51), Nurse (12)
Goalies: LAK: Copley (L; 30 saves – 32 shots), Copley (16 saves – 17 shots) EDM: Skinner (W; 20 saves – 21 shots)
LAK PP: 0-for-4
LAK PK: 2-for-4
2022-23 REGULAR-SEASON INJURY & MGL REPORT
Player, Games Missed, Date(s), Status
F Trevor Moore, 23 games, Dec. 27 – Jan. 31 (upper-body); Feb. 23 – Mar. 6 (upper-body)
F Alex Iafallo, 23 games, Oct. 18 – Dec. 3 (lower-body)
F Brendan Lemieux, 18 games, Nov. 14 – Dec. 20 (lower-body)
F Arthur Kaliyev, 18 games, Dec. 22 – Jan. 31 (lower-body)
F Gabriel Vilardi, 17 games, Nov. 27 (lower-body); Jan. 19 – Feb. 13 (undisclosed); Mar. 28 – Apr. 13 (upper-body)
F Carl Grundstrom, 15 games, Jan. 19 – Feb. 26 (lower-body)
F Kevin Fiala, 13 games, Mar. 11 – Mar. 25 (lower-body), Mar. 30 (lower-body), Apr. 2 – Apr. 13. (lower-body)
D Sean Durzi, 9 games, Nov. 19 – Nov. 22. (lower-body); Mar. 9 – Mar. 25 (lower-body)
F Quinton Byfield, 6 games, Oct. 27 – Nov. 5 (illness)
D Alex Edler, 5 games, Apr. 4 – Apr. 13 (upper-body)
D Mikey Anderson, 5 games, Apr. 1 – Apr. 8 (upper-body)
F Viktor Arvidsson, 3 games, Oct. 13 (illness); Oct. 25 (illness); Jan. 11 (illness)
D Drew Doughty, 1 game, Dec. 11 (lower-body)
2022-23 Total Regular-Season Man-Games Lost: 156
2023 PLAYOFFS INJURY & MGL REPORT
Player, Games Missed, Date(s), Status
n/a
2023 Total Playoffs Man-Games Lost: n/a
RECENT TRANSACTIONS (as of 4/16/23)
Apr. 5 – Jordan Spence (D) recalled on emergency basis from Ontario (AHL).
Apr. 8 – Tobias Bjornfot (D) loaned to Ontario (AHL).
Apr. 9 – Jordan Spence (D) loaned to Ontario (AHL).
Apr. 9 – Alex Laferriere (F) signed to a three-year entry-level contract.
Apr. 10 – Tobias Bjornfot (D) recalled on emergency basis from Ontario (AHL).
Apr. 10 – Tobias Bjornfot (D) loaned to Ontario (AHL).
LA KINGS TEAM NOTES:
THE PLAYOFFS ARE HERE!
The Kings became the third team in the Western Conference and ninth team in the NHL to secure a playoff berth to compete for the Stanley Cup following their 4-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on April 2. The 2023 postseason appearance marks their second consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and 32nd postseason berth in franchise history. It is the first time the Kings have reached the playoffs in back-to-back years since qualifying five-straight years (2010-14), during which time current captain Anze Kopitar and alternate captain Drew Doughty helped the Kings capture the first two Stanley Cups (2012, 2014) in franchise history. During the 2014 championship run, Kopitar led the NHL in playoff scoring with 26 points (5-21=26) in 26 games.
In addition to Kopitar and Doughty, head coach Todd McLellan captured the Stanley Cup as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings (2008). A year ago, McLellan guided the Kings to their first playoff appearance since 2018, which saw 10 different Kings (Mikey Anderson, Quinton Byfield, Sean Durzi, Carl Grundstrom, Arthur Kaliyev, Rasmus Kupari, Blake Lizotte, Matt Roy, Jordan Spence and Gabriel Vilardi) make their postseason debuts. Eight of those debuts came in Game One, which tied for the third most in franchise history in a single game (also 1974 and 2010). In total, 15 players from last year’s Kings playoff roster return, including the team’s leading playoff scorer Adrian Kempe (2-4=6).
REGULAR-SEASON RECAP
The Kings enter the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs fresh off one of the franchise’s best regular-season performance in club history. The Kings finished the 2022-23 regular-season with a record of 47-25-10, securing the second-most wins in a single season in franchise history behind only the 2015-16 season (48 wins). The team’s .634 points percentage (PTS%) to finish the season is the third-best behind only the 1974-75 (.656 PTS%) and 1990-91 (.638 PTS%) campaigns:
Best Kings seasons based on PTS%
Season PTS% (record)
1974-75 .656% (42-17-21)
1990-91 .638% (46-24-10)
2022-23 .634% (47-25-10)
2015-16 .622% (48-28-6)
1980-81 .619% (43-24-13)
EDMONTON OILERS NOTES:
ALL-TIME PLAYOFFS vs. LOS ANGELES GP RECORD HOME (23) AWAY (20) GF GA
OILERS ALL-TIME vs. LOS ANGELES 43 28-15 16-7 12-8 181 144
OILERS vs. LOS ANGELES – 2022-23 4 2-2-0 1-1-0 1-1-0 9 10
QUICK FACTS
• Monday’s game will mark the second straight year the Oilers and Kings have faced each other in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
• Edmonton It marks the second time in the last 31 years Edmonton and Los Angeles have faced off in the playoffs. It will mark the ninth series between the franchises overall – Edmonton holds a 6-2 edge in the previous eight.
• The 2023 first round is the 23rd time the Oilers enter game 1 in a best-of-seven series as the home team and just the fourth time in 31 years (also 2021 R1 vs. WPG, 2017 R1 vs. SJS, 2022 R1 vs. LAK). They own a series record of 18-4 in the previous 22 matchups.
• These teams met four times in the 2022-23 regular season, splitting the season series 2-2.
• Connor McDavid leads the Oilers with 14 career playoff points against the Kings and 10 Oilers have appeared in seven career playoff games against Los Angeles.
POWER PLAY PROWESS
The Oilers concluded the 2022-23 season with the top three power play point getters in the NHL, with McDavid (71), Draisaitl (62) and Nugent-Hopkins (53) ranking first, second and third respectively. Connor McDavid’s 71 power play points on the year, gave him the new Oilers single season record for most PPP’s in a season, a record previously held by Wayne Gretzky (57 – 1981-82). Leon Draisaitl scored his league leading 32nd power play goal of the season on Apr. 13 vs. SJS, passing his own franchise record for most PPG’s in one season, a mark he set in 2021-22. Draisaitl’s 32 power play goals are the most by any player since Mario Lemieux posted 31 in 1995-96. Only one other active player has scored 26+ PPG’s in a single season – Chris Kreider (26 in ’21-22 w/NYR).
GONE STREAKING
Leon Draisaitl posted his 8th career regular season hat-trick on Apr. 1 vs. ANA, including his 50th goal of the season and achieving the 50 goal milestone for the third time in his career and second straight season. He finished the season registering points in 28 of his last 30 games, accumulating 52 points (23G, 29A) in that span, including 15 multi-point efforts. He has recorded eight separate point streaks of 10+ games in his career.
EARNING POINTS
The Oilers finished the season down the stretch with a 17-2-1 in their final 20 games, outscoring opponents 88-54, while earning at least a point in 18 of the 20 games.
FIVE OF A KIND
The Oilers scored 5+ goals 32 times in 2022-23, posting a record of 30-2-1 when scoring five or more goals in a game.
GOALS BY PERIOD
The Oilers finished the 2022-23 season as the team with the most goals in both the first and second periods:
1st Period Goals – 1st (92)
2nd Period Goals – 1st (128)
ROAD WARRIORS
With a win on Apr. 11 at COL, the Oilers set a new franchise record with 27 road wins this season. (1983- 84 Oilers- 26)
LAST 10 GAMES vs. LOS ANGELES
Record: 6-4-0
GF: 33 GA: 23
2022-23 4/4/23 @ LAK 3-1 W
2022-23 3/30/23 @ EDM 2-0 W
2022-23 1/9/23 @ LAK 6-3 L
2022-23 11/16/22 @ EDM 3-1 L
*2021-22 5/14/22 @ EDM 2-0 W
*2021-22 5/12/22 @ LAK 4-2 W
*2021-22 5/10/22 @ EDM 5-4 L (OT)
*2021-22 5/8/22 @ LAK 4-0 L
*2021-22 5/6/22 @ LAK 8-2 W
*2021-22 5/4/22 @ EDM 6-0 W
*Notes playoff game
OILERS IN APRIL
Overall – 201 GP, 94-83-15-9 – 212 PTS
2022-23 – 6 GP, 6-0-0 – 12 PTS
2021-22 – 12 GP, 9-2-1 – 19 PTS
