It became official Monday night when the Oilers kept their top players off the ice in a 5-0 loss to Los Angeles and handed over second place to the Kings.
Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar passes the puck away from Edmonton Oilers right winger Connor Brown during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 5, 2025. Photo by Alex Gallardo /AP
Over time, as injuries piled up and expectations gave way to reality, it became obvious that the Edmonton Oilers goal of finishing first in the Pacific Division, if not the whole Western Conference, was not going to be.
Then, even the new, lowered expectations, second place in the Pacific and home ice advantage in the first round, slipped out of reach in the end.
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It became official Monday night when the Oilers kept their top players off the ice in a 5-0 loss to Los Angeles and handed over second place to the Kings.
So this is it — they finish sixth in the Western Conference, third in the Pacific and, barring some mind-blowing upsets, will be the road team in every series they play.
This isn’t ideal, but, as the Oilers know from experience, very little about the NHL playoffs is. They all know this isn’t going to be easy no matter where the pucks are dropped.
“Obviously you want home ice, especially when you’re playing in front of these fans, they give us such juice,” said Oilers forward Connor Brown. “But you have to play the hand you’re dealt. There’s nothing you can do about it now.”
Home ice is one of those things that every team wants, but will immediately downplay when they don’t have it. That’s where the Oilers are now.
“Our goal was to make the playoffs, that was our first goal and then go from there,” said veteran forward Corey Perry. “We know who we’re playing and we kind of know when. We know where. We open up on the road so it’s a matter of being ready. Go out and do a job on the road.
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“It’s not the first time or the last time we’re going to open a series on the road. We’ve been decent on the road and we know how to play, just a boring style of hockey.”
They have a point. It’s called home ice ‘advantage’ for a reason, but not having it doesn’t amount to a death sentence.
Last year, the teams that opened at home went 7-1 in the first round, with the only upset being 107-point Colorado surprising 110-point Winnipeg.
The year before it was 6-2.
But from 2012 to 2021 (excluding 2020 because of bubble games), nearly half of all best-of-seven series were won by the lower seed (66 of 135 for 48.9 per cent).
And in the 2021 playoffs, 10 of 15 series were won by the team that started the series on the road.
“Our record at home and away is almost identical,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch, whose club is 25-13-3 at home, 22-16-2 on the road.
“It’s always nice to play here at Rogers with the support of the fans, we’d like that, but we’re as good a road team as we are at home so we’re ready for that.”
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The only scary part is that Los Angeles is a buzz saw in their own building, nearly unbeatable with the best home ice record in the NHL (31-5-4). So they’re understandably jacked that this rematch with their old nemesis begins on L.A. turf for a change.
“It’s a big accomplishment,” said Kings defenceman Mikey Anderson. “Obviously we haven’t had it yet (in the first three series with Edmonton). “It’s a good step and now we just keep plugging along and get ready for the next one.”
“It means a lot,” adds Kings forward Adrian Kempe. “We’ve established our home game all season, we have really good confidence there.”
Another indicator that this series might be different from the first three, in which the Oilers eliminated the Kings in seven, six and five games, is the regular season trend.
The Oilers have one goal in their last three games against the Kings (1-0 win and 2-0 and 5-0 defeats), which is somewhat concerning, even if the two defeats were without Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
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The counter-point is that the Kings haven’t seen the Oilers at their best yet in a long time — so, while nobody has any idea what to expect from Edmonton when the curtain lifts for Game 1, it might be best to reserve judgment till we see what their team looks like.
“Everyone knows what’s ahead of us, a gruelling series,” said Brown. “Come next week it’s going to be exciting. We have a high sense of belief in this group, I think we can do something special.
“If we can put together our best game, it won’t matter where we’re playing. We believe that our best is better than anyone’s best.”
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