The Los Angeles Kings ‘ hunt for their third Stanley Cup starts in the same place as every other team in the playoffs — the first round.
History, though, isn’t on the Kings’ side. In Los Angeles’ past five postseason showings — and since winning the Stanley Cup in 2014 — it has exited in the first round.
The No. 2-seeded Kings are facing the third-seeded Edmonton Oilers, but Edmonton holds a 3-2 lead going into Game 6 (7:20 p.m. ET, ESPN.) It’s win or go home time for Los Angeles. In their last three appearances, the Kings were dispatched by the Oilers each time.
The first-round series against the Oilers makes it the second time since the expansion era (the 1967-68 season) that two teams have met in the opening round of four straight postseasons, joining the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens from 1984 to 1987, according to ESPN Research.
History is also at stake. If the Kings don’t find a way to stop their postseason drought against the Oilers, Edmonton could become the fourth team in the expansion era to win a series in four consecutive postseasons against a single opponent.
However, the Kings still have a chance to break their first-round curse.
Here is how Los Angeles fared in its past five first-round postseason appearances.
Year: 2016 First round opponent: San Jose Sharks
The Kings had a promising start in the series, holding a better record than the Sharks in the regular season. Jake Muzzin struck the series off for Los Angeles with the first goal of the series, but penalties held the Kings back from capitalizing against the Sharks.
San Jose defeated Los Angeles in five games. Los Angeles earned its lone victory in the series after a Tanner Pearson goal in overtime of Game 3. The Kings lost each game by one point, except the series closer, where San Jose beat Los Angeles 6-3.
Year: 2018 First-round opponent: Vegas Golden Knights
Then-Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury limited the Kings to only three goals in the entire series, saving 127 shots. Los Angeles didn’t score a goal until the second period of Game 2 — a power-play goal from Paul LaDue before eventually going into double overtime, where Erik Haula scored the winner.
Los Angeles showed extra fight in Game 3, striking first in the opening period. However, Vegas caught fire in the third period with three goals, two of them coming within a minute of each other. Anze Kopitar scored three minutes later, but Fleury’s 37 saves prevented the Kings from scoring the rest of the game — and the series. Vegas swept Los Angeles and advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, falling to the Washington Capitals in five games.
Year: 2022 First-round opponent: Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles hadn’t faced the Oilers in the playoffs since the 1992 Pacific Division Semifinals, which the Kings won in six games.
Fast forward to 2022: The series went seven games, and Jonathan Quick came up clutch in net. Edmonton was on the brink of elimination in Game 6, when 33 Quick saves preceded two late third-period goals from Tyson Barrie and Evander Kane to tie the series at three games apiece.
Quick saved 62 shots across the final two games of the series, keeping the Oilers’ journey alive.
Year: 2023 First-round opponent: Edmonton Oilers
Three of the six games in the series went into overtime, with Los Angeles winning two of those three contests. The series became tied at two games apiece, before Edmonton outscored Los Angeles 11-7 in the final two games. Stuart Skinner shined in net, saving 65 shots across Games 5 and 6.
Year: 2024 First-round opponent: Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton didn’t hold back against Los Angeles in the series, outscoring it 23-12. While Skinner’s netminding kept Kings off the scoreboard, Oilers winger Zach Hyman played a pivotal role in the Edmonton offense, leading the team with seven total goals in the series en route to defeating Los Angeles in five games.
Source link
