The Los Angeles Kings return home for a pivotal matchup right after their holiday break against the Edmonton Oilers. This will be the first time the two teams are meeting since the Oilers knocked the Kings out of the playoffs last season.
However, the reason this game is important to the Kings this season is that they are chasing the Oilers who are currently one point ahead of Los Angeles in the division. This is the first of four games between the two teams this season. The Kings will play the Oilers again on January 13th before not seeing each other until April at the end of the regular season.
When including the playoffs, the Kings have struggled against the Oilers as they are 2-8 over the last 10 games and been outscored 37-26.
Key to the Game: Capitalize on Power Plays
One of the big takeaways from the playoff series last season was the Kings inability to capitalize on power plays as they had zero power play goals over the five game series. The bad news is that the power play struggles has carried over to this season as the Kings are 25th in the NHL in power play percentage at 15.9%.
However, the Oilers are equally bad in killing power plays this season as they are 26th in the NHL with a penalty kill percentage of 74.7%. A power play goal in this game could be the deciding factor in the winner.
Final Score Prediction: Edmonton Oilers 2, Los Angeles Kings 1
The Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers both rank in the Top 10 in goals against average this season with the Kings at 3rd with an average of 2.56 while the Oilers are at 9th with an average of 2.79.
This game will not be high scoring and should be a very competitive game with neither team really giving up much. In the end, the Oilers do just enough to secure the win in the first meeting between these two teams.