The Edmonton Oilers are off till tomorrow when they will start their playoff run against the Los Angeles Kings at 8 pm. Till then the Oilers will likely have a couple more skates to iron out their game before puck drop. Till then all we as Oilers fans can do is watch what is going on around the rest of the league.
The Oilers have already had one practice so we did get a chance to look at the line combinations. There were not many changes from the rest of the season. The only question I have moving through this series is whether will they keep Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl separated.
No Kane or Janmark on ice for Oilers' first playoff practice.
— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) April 20, 2024
Henrique-McDavid-Hyman
RNH-Draisaitl-Foegele
Holloway-McLeod-Perry
Ryan/Gagner-Carrick-Brown
Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Ceci
Kulak-Desharnais
Stecher
Skinner
The Los Angeles Kings are probably the only team in the NHL that has the potential to match the Oilers' center Depth. They Have Kopitar, Danault and Dubois those are three good centers when they are all playing at the top of their game. The problem is while Kopitar and Danault are usually on their game, Dubois rarely is. In the 82 games played this year Dubois only has 16 goals and 24 assists and is a -9 on the season.
When the Oilers split up Draisaitl and McDavid their team is much deeper, but when they played together their high-end talent no one in the NHL could beat that line. Right now it will likely be McDavid vs Danault, Kopitar vs Draisaitl and McLoud vs PLD. In the last few games, PLD was on the 4th line, but I imagine he will get another try to start the 3rd line during game one.
Scores Around The NHL
The NHL playoffs did start last night with two games. The Carolina Hurricanes opened their series against the New York Islanders, a game which the Hurricanes won 3-1. In the second game of the day the Boston Bruins faced the Toronto Maples Leafs. This was a one-sided game where the Bruins took down the Maple Leafs by a score of 5-1.
The playoff schedule continues tonight as there are 4 games today. Tampa Bay Lightning take on the Flordia Panthers in a battle of Florida, the Capitals will be in New York to take on the Rangers, then the Winnipeg Jets will host the Colorado Avalanche and finally the Nashville Predators will play the Vancouver Canucks.
It will be a busy day today for watching the NHL playoffs, but for Oilers fans, we are patiently waiting for tomorrow night when the Edmonton Oilers will start their playoff journey, to what will hopefully be a Stanley Cup.