The midpoint of the NHL schedule might only have arrived, but Rogers Place might very well be a crystal ball of the playoff future to come for the Edmonton Oilers.
Hosting the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, neither club needed a reminder of how the post-season has shaken down lately.
As in: Three straight first-round playoff meetings. And three straight series wins by the Oilers.
The two teams have been breathing down each other’s necks all season long, swapping places between second and third in the Pacific Division, which makes a fifth-straight post-season clash more than a little likely, looking ahead at potential playoff scenarios three months from now.
L.A. won the first meeting of the season, a 4-3 overtime decision at Crypto.com Arena coming off the Christmas break, ahead of Monday’s rematch at Rogers Place — their second of four meetings in the regular season.
But as the past few years have shown, it’s the games that come afterward that everyone remembers.
“Speaking for ourselves, anytime you’re playing against a team you’ve played a lot, no matter what the end result has been, there’s an extra level of anticipation and excitement when those games come,” said Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse. “It’s no different when we play the Kings, and it seems year after year we’re competing for the same spots in the standings and competing for the same points within our division.
“So, for us we just keep our focus on what we can do and then go out there and play our own game and let the rest take care of itself.”
It may not exactly be a Battle of Alberta intensity, driven by a deep-rooted rivalry between the northern and southern parts of the province where standings seem irrelevant anytime the Oilers and Calgary Flames meet. Then again, there are rivalries across the league that have been built on less history than the ongoing one shared recently by the Oilers and Kings in what’s become an opening-round staple of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“That’s just natural, right?” Nurse said. “Obviously, playing within your division there’s always higher stakes to the games, it feels. And then when you add in the emotion and history of playing in the playoffs, that’s how you develop these rivalries.
“They’re a really good team and we’re a really good team too, and I think that’s what makes this game fun, is when you have two good teams competing against each other and have that history built up.”
The Oilers have been getting more efficient at dispatching the Kings over the years, taking the opening-round series 4-3 in 2022, 4-2 in 2023 and 4-1 a season ago.
Of course, the Oilers-Kings fanfare goes back well beyond their latest meetings. These are the same two organizations involved in the trade of the game’s biggest legend, when Wayne Gretzky was sent south on Aug. 9, 1988.
The Oilers have won the past six playoff meetings against L.A., and eight of their 10 post-season matchups, with an overall record of 32-17.
That’s not to say Edmonton can rely on any sort of historical advantage whenever they’re facing the Kings. They still have to do their homework, despite the familiarity.
“They’ve got a lot of speed. They obviously changed things up with the coaching and everything, so they’ve got a little bit of a different system,” said Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner. “Different forecheck, different neutral zone, so they’re playing the game a little differently. They’re different in the D-zone too.
“So, kind of all parts are different but same types of players. Gritty players that like to go to the net. They present a lot of bodies in front, a lot of guys that can scrum it up. Obviously some fantastic players with some really good IQ.”
One of them needs no introduction at Rogers Place, unless it’s to the visitors dressing room, where Warren Foegele visited for the first time since leaving Edmonton in free agency in the summer.
“Last time, it was exciting playing against your former team. But coming back here brought a lot of good memories, and obviously skating there felt very familiar,” Foegele said following Monday’s morning skate. “Even just looking up at the (Western Conference championship) banner there, we didn’t get the ultimate goal last year, but in a way at least it’s nice to see that I’ll be up there for some type of reason.”
“So, a lot of good memories here, everyone treated me really well and it was definitely like a second home to me, here in Edmonton.”
E-mail: [email protected]
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
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