Oilers Eliminate Kings from Playoffs for Fourth Consecutive Year
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Shamini
- . May 2, 2025
- . Update: May 2, 2025 3:38 pm
On Thursday the Edmonton Oilers won Game 6 against the Los Angeles Kings 6-4 to win the series 4-2 and proceed to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Oilers eliminated the Kings in the first round for the fourth consecutive offseason. So in this playoff year the Oilers are the kings’ kings.
Connor Brown played a critical role in the Oilers’ victory contributing one goal and two assists. Zach Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Darnell Nurse and Trent Frederic each added a goal and an assist in a well balanced team effort. Also important to the win was goalkeeper Calvin Pickard who made 23 saves and kept the Kings from mounting any offense in the waning moments of the game.
While the Kings jumped to an early 2-0 series lead, the Oilers fought back and won four straight to take the series. In an important Game 6 matchup, in which the score was tied at 2-2 in the first period, Zach Hyman gave the Oilers their first lead by tipping a shot from Nurse from the point after Curtis Lazar had tied the score. Nurse later capitalized a goal in the second period and Frederic redirected a shot during an odd man rush to push the score 5-2. Although Jordan Spence and Anze Kopitar found the back of the net for the Kings, their efforts fell short in closing the gap as Edmonton maintained their lead.
With this victory, the Oilers are set to advance to the Western Conference semifinals, where they will face the Pacific Division champions, the Vegas Golden Knights. Oilers captain Connor McDavid noted that we need to have a better start in the next series and get a better performance. Pickard commended his team’s resilience, explaining that they have learned to bounce back and thrive after adversity.