This blog is going to be the start of a mini-series I’m writing – there’s only 10 games left in the Edmonton Oilers season so let’s take a look at some of the opponents we might face in both the division and the conference.
A good place to start is the most likely opponent the Edmonton Oilers will draw in the first round – the Los Angeles Kings.
The Kings undertook a rebuild a few seasons ago and are now roughly about where the Oilers were three seasons ago more or less – mostly done the rebuild but not a team that’s really equipped to make some noise just yet.
Due to contracts, the Kings are kind of stuck between the past and the present. Core players from their Stanley Cup winning years in 2012 and 2014 remain on the roster – Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, and Jonathan Quick.
These players are interspersed with future stars who are either works in progress or starting to blossom – guys like Quinton Byfield and Adrian Kempe.
Of all the relics from past glories, only Brown’s contract is up after this season – and at 37 years old it’s fair to ask if he still has a place with the Kings going forward or even if his career is now over after this season.
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I don’t know if the Kings will truly take a step forward until these contracts are off the books. It’s unlikely another team will take them off the Kings’ hands, but never say never. Jim Benning got suckered into taking one of the worst contracts in hockey off of the Arizona Coyote’s books, so anything’s possible.
At any rate, with this crazy a mixture of greenhorns and past their prime players, I don’t think the LA Kings have the right mix of players to make much noise in the playoffs. The greenhorns won’t have the experience of playing playoff hockey just yet and the old guard won’t have much gas left in the task to go on another long playoff run.
What they’re missing is exactly what the Edmonton Oilers possess – a lot of guys in the prime of their careers and a roster that’s hungry to succeed. The Oilers have a score to settle with the rest of the league after being defeated in the play-in round two seasons ago by Chicago and last season in the first round by Winnipeg.
There’s no question in my mind which team is hungrier and will want it more. Playoff hockey tightens up significantly, oftentimes that small margin of error to play in the regular season gets even smaller in the playoffs.
I believe the Oilers match up well with the Kings, and if they’re playing the way they’ve been playing as of late they should defeat them easily.
The Kings won’t go quietly, of course, and might take a game or two, but IMO the Edmonton Oilers will come out as the victors in the end.
Let’s take a look at each team and see how they compare.