WHO: Los Angeles Kings vs. Edmonton Oilers (Kings Lead Series 2-0)
WHAT: 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Round 1, Game 3
WHEN: Friday, April 25 @ 7:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Rogers Place – Edmonton, Alberta
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FanDuel Sports Network SoCal & TNT – AUDIO – ESPN LA App – TWITTER: @dooleylak & @lakings
TODAY’S MATCHUP: Following a pair of victories in Los Angeles, the series shift North of the border, as the Kings look to make it three straight wins tonight in Edmonton.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Kings enter tonight’s game with the top three scorers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Forward Adrian Kempe has seven points (3-4-7) from two games played versus Edmonton here in Round 1, while forwards Anze Kopitar (1-4-5) and Andrei Kuzmenko (2-3-5) each have five points. For Kempe, he has 14 goals in 20 career playoff against the Oilers.
KINGS VITALS: The Kings did not practice yesterday, with a travel day to Edmonton, and hit the ice for a full-team morning skate earlier today at Rogers Place.
Coming off consecutive victories, goaltender Darcy Kuemper was off the ice first for the Kings, making him the expected starter between the pipes. Kuemper has a 2-0 record in the 2025 postseason and stopped 24 of the 26 shots he faced in a Game 2 victory.
Despite the full-team skate, the Kings did not take formal line rushes this morning in Edmonton. Game 2’s lineup is listed below, for reference –
Kuzmenko – Kopitar – Kempe Foegele – Danault – Moore Fiala – Byfield – Laferriere
Malott – Helenius
Anderson – Doughty Gavrikov – Spence Edmundson – Clarke
Moverare
Kuemper
Rittich
Jim Hiller was not committal with regards to potential lineup changes for tonight’s Game 3, declining to share whether the Kings will go 11/7 or 12/6. Will see during warmups.
The Kings opted for one swap between Games 1 and 2, with defenseman Jacob Moverare making his playoff debut, in place of forward Alex Turcotte, as the Kings opted for the 11/7 approach. Wouldn’t be surprised either way tonight. Moverare played just one shift in Game 2, while the fourth line has been pretty low-minute across the two games thus far.
If the team would like to make any additional changes, Turcotte, along with forwards Trevor Lewis and Akil Thomas, as well as defenseman Kyle Burroughs are available to check in.
OILERS VITALS: Edmonton also held a full-team skate at Rogers Place this morning, in advance of the series shifting back to their home rink.
Per Tony Brar of Oilers TV, here’s how the Oilers lined up in today’s morning skate –
EDM lines – Morning Skate:
Draisaitl – McDavid – HymanPodkolzin – RNH – ArvidssonKane – Henrique – Brown
Frederic – Janmark – Perry
Extras: Skinner, Ryan, Kapanen, Jones
Klingberg – BouchardNurse – Emberson
Kulak – Walman
Extras: Brown, Stecher
Pickard
Skinner#Oilers
— Tony Brar 🚀 (@TonyBrarOTV) April 25, 2025
The Oilers made wholesale changes to their lineup between Games 1 and 2, inserting forward Evander Kane and defenseman John Klingberg, while switching up all four forward lines, including moving Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl onto the same forward unit. Looks like additional tweaking above, but remains to be seen how accurate those combinations will be.
For tonight’s Game 3, look for goaltender Calvin Pickard to make his first start of the series. Pickard has two career playoff starts and four total appearances, including the final 9:30 of Game 2 in Los Angeles, when he stopped two of the three shots he faced in relief.
Storyline Of The Day – The Series Shifts
The Kings are up two games to none after taking care of business on home ice. After a scare in Game 1, they handled things convincingly in Game 2, opening up a big lead in the third period, on route to a 6-2 victory.
Job well done?
Sort of. Yeah, that’s all the job the Kings could do in those two games. So, to win both and hold serve at home was extremely important. But you play these things to four games, not two, as the Kings well know.
“It’s the first one to four and we still have a long road to go,” forward Warren Foegele said. “Just take it day-by-day.”
Now the series shifts to Edmonton, a different type of task for the Kings for a few different reasons, though the Kings aren’t going to make it into more than it is by focusing on “challenges that aren’t there”, as Hiller put it.
What they do know, though, is that the job is not done.
“We want to win every game, but yeah, it’s a big one [tonight],” forward Trevor Moore said. “Just taking care of it one game at a time right now, I don’t think we’re trying to think too far ahead. Just play our game and see what happens.”
For the Kings, each day has had a purpose, heading into tonight’s Game 3.
Naturally, Wednesday was about Game 2 and finding a victory, which they did. That night, you’re happy about the win, certainly, but by the next morning you move on.
“We got home ice, we battled hard for it and we wanted to take advantage,” defenseman Mikey Anderson said. “We’re happy getting the two and we come to the rink [Thursday], take what you need, talk about the game and then it’s the next game you focus on. Just a day at a time.”
Yesterday, the Kings did not practice before traveling to Alberta. It was more about refreshing and recharging, with the compact schedule that a playoff series brings.
Then, you move on.
“The off days are not days to celebrate and be loose, there’s a purpose to the day, to get refreshed,” Head Coach Jim Hiller said. “I think if you keep your focus on what you need to do to keep preparing to win hockey games, I think that will keep you pretty level-headed.”
The challenges of Edmonton are both emotional and tactical.
On the road, the Oilers control the matchups for line changes that come on faceoffs. The Kings did trend towards the Danault line, with the Anderson/Doughty pairing as the primary opposition for Edmonton’s top unit in Game 2, but they have three centers they trust with those matchups and they’ve moved defensemen around a bit to where they have multiple combinations on the backend to handle that matchup as needed.
The Oilers should be refueled as well, coming home to have the crowd at their back, bolstered emotionally by the notion of a series not starting until you lose at home. That’s the thought, anyways. Travel elements were largely the same, as both teams flew out yesterday morning, but there is something to be said for flying home, especially I think down 0-2. Expecting Edmonton to come out hard tonight.
The Kings certainly won’t have a lack of respect for that Edmonton squad. They know this is still the team that’s knocked them out three years running and the team that was one win away from a championship last season.
“I didn’t have to remind them to respect them down 0-1, down 0-2 they respect the Oilers, that’s a heck of a team,” Hiller added. “Respect isn’t an issue. We just have got to make sure we do the things that we do and focus on ourselves.”
If it doesn’t go their way in Game 3, it won’t be because of that. It’ll boil down to not doing the things that they’ve done to get to this point, up 2-0.
Hiller added that he isn’t talking to the team about matching the desperation coming from Edmonton. He’s talked to them about the Kings focus and the Kings intensity. That’ll be the focus heading into their first road game of the postseason.
“I’ve talked to them about our desperation, our intensity, keeping our level where it’s at,” Hiller added. “That’s the most important.”
3 To Watch For –
– The most tangible benefit, on paper at least, would be the matchup advantage.
Things like home cooking, atmosphere and such are all important, but they are less quantifiable. Matchups are. Here’s the breakdown, by center, through two games.
Connor McDavid, Minutes By Opponent vs. Kopitar – 6 vs. Danault – 18
vs. Byfield – 7
Leon Draisaitl, By Opponent vs. Kopitar – 8 vs. Danault – 14
vs. Byfield – 8
Phillip Danault and his linemates Warren Foegele and Trevor Moore have taken on the toughest of matchups so far in this series. It’s a challenge they relish and one they’re prepared for tonight, if that’s how things shake out.
“Absolutely,” Moore said, when asked about the pride he takes in those matchups. “It’s always tough playing against those guys, but it’s rewarding when you get the job done. Long way to go still, but it’s good [to get those matchups].”
What’s important for the Kings tonight, though, is that while Danault’s line may be preferred, there is trust and confidence regardless of who is on the ice.
A pretty even split over the two games between Kopitar and Byfield. All three are confident and comfortable.
“I think everybody lives for that opportunity,” Byfield said, if tasked with some of those shifts tonight. “Those guys, two of the best players in the league, so if you get that challenge, you dig in a little bit more and that’s what we’re going to have to do.”
So, what’s the plan, when the Kings are in control?
“We’re just not going to try and overthink too much,” Jim Hiller said this morning.
He added the Kings are comfortable with different defensemen. Confident in all three lines with that matchup. Regardless of who is out there, the Kings will take it as it comes. And they’ll do so confidently.
– Another game, another multi-point performance from forward Andrei Kuzmenko in Game 2.
How’s this for a statistic – Kuzmenko became the first player in more than ten years to collect multiple points in his first two Stanley Cup Playoff games. He followed up his three-point showing in Game 1 with a goal and an assist in Game 2. The last player to do so? Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon in 2014.
“Kuzy’s been really good since he came in, especially with me and Kopi,” Adrian Kempe said of his linemate. “It took a couple games to know him as a player, but he’s been a really good fit [on our line], he’s highly skilled in the o-zone.”
It’s hard to think about it being his first two postseason games in the NHL.
Kuzmenko isn’t exactly your typical playoff rookie, at 29 years old. I mean, he’s a 39-goal scorer in the NHL who has scored more points since the trade deadline than any other player who was moved on that day, between regular season and playoffs. That’s impressive.
“First NHL playoff games, you don’t know what to expect, but he’s an older player, so he’s got that on his side,” Hiller added. “I thought he’s performed like he has since the trade deadline. He’s just really made a difference.”
– Lastly, a small note, non-Kings related, but certainly organizationally related.
Forward Liam Greentree, who saw his OHL season come to a close on Tuesday, was reassigned to the AHL’s Ontario Reign earlier this morning.
Greentree, the top prospect in the Kings system, has battled a pretty serious illness towards the end of his OHL playoff campaign. Assuming he is set to go, Greentree could factor into the Calder Cup Playoffs, especially if Ontario can win Game 2 on Saturday and extend its series to Game 3 and perhaps beyond.
Kings and Oilers, Game 3! FanDuel Sports Network SoCal again tonight for the local broadcast, TNT for the national feed.
