'It's Built Into a Rivalry for Sure': Oilers and Kings Amp Up the Action With Playoffs Looming

"It feels like we've played them 100 times in the past two years." It's still very possible Edmonton and Los Angeles will face off yet again in the first round as the rivalry continues to heat up.

Deja vu will be in full effect if the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings face off in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third straight year.

With Los Angeles just a point out of third in the Pacific Division and Edmonton holding down the second spot, the matchup is still very much possible. The increasing rivalry between these two teams takes the energy to another level, even in the regular season.

"With the history, especially against this group, there's always a little more juice against them," Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl told reporters on Thursday. "I think they'd probably say the same thing. I think it amps up a little bit more knowing that you're facing a certain team."

The Oilers recorded 47 hits against the Kings on Thursday, the most they've had in a regular-season game since their last 47-hit outing in 2018-19. In fact, dating back to 2005-06 when the NHL first started tracking hits, the Oilers have only had one regular-season game when they recorded more than 47 hits – 48 in 2009. 

Four of the Kings' top 10 games with the most hits this season have also come against the Oilers, including 32 in Thursday's 4-1 loss.

Facing any division rival brings those repeated battles, but it's a little different with the Kings.

"It feels like we've played them 100 times in the past two years," said Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse.

The total isn't quite at 100, but these two teams have played each other 25 times since 2021-22 in the regular season and post-season combined.

In 2021-22, the Oilers and Kings needed a Game 7 to determine a first-round winner, but Edmonton came out on top, 2-0. One year later, the Kings took a 2-1 series lead over the Oilers before Edmonton fired off three straight wins.

The Kings' battles against Edmonton over the years have allowed them to learn about the roster beyond just Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, according to forward Adrian Kempe.

"You learn more about how they play – you learn more about not just them but the entire team, how they want to play since we've played them so many times," Kempe said. "How do we play when we beat them, what works against them? You kind of learn more about the individuals and what they rely on."

While there have been changes on both rosters, many names have remained the same for both sides. Edmonton still has key players in Connor McDavid, Draisaitl, Nurse, Evan Bouchard, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evander Kane. The Kings still have Anze Kopitar, Kempe, Drew Doughty, Phillip Danault and Trevor Moore inside a core that has pushed Edmonton to its limits in the past two playoffs.

"They bring a lot of different components within the game," Nurse said. "They're able to play a physical brand, a skilled brand of hockey, and that's what makes them hard to play against."

Edmonton's win on Thursday ended the Kings' four-game winning streak, but Los Angeles has bounced back after firing coach Todd McLellan during the all-star break. Their .646 points percentage since Feb. 2 is tied for the seventh-best in the NHL, and they've only allowed 2.38 goals per game, the third-fewest overall. And while the Oilers have had the league's second-best power play throughout the season, the Kings have the second-best penalty kill.

While fans and media continue to debate the NHL's divisional playoff system against the old 1-versus-8 conference-seeding format, having division rivals playing so often throughout the year just to face off again in the post-season has helped build the intensity. 

To Nurse, this matchup has become significant as it represents the fight for a team to stay alive or head home early in the post-season.

"It's built into a rivalry for sure – it comes from all the games that we've played against each other at the highest stakes," Nurse said. "When you're playing in the playoffs, I feel like everything is heated because, really, one team is knocking another team out and ending their season. You have more and more of those games against each other, and it's going to transfer over into the regular season."