EDMONTON, CANADA – APRIL 27: Zach Hyman #18 and Evander Kane #91 of the Edmonton Oilers battles against goaltender Darcy Kuemper #35 of the Los Angeles Kings during overtime in Game Four of the First Round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on April 27, 2025 in Edmonton, Canada. (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images)
There's no secret as to why Canadian teams haven't won a Stanley Cup in the 21st century. It's because they didn't get to host every playoff game on home ice, in front of the loudest hockey fans this side of Latvia. If a club like Edmonton played at home throughout spring, they'd be wearing rings by now.
Los Angeles felt that above-the-border curse's sting Sunday. The LA Kings went into Game 4's final period with what felt like a comfortable 3-1 lead, and yet, no edge is truly comfortable against Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl's forward lines. Draisaitl set up his teammate Evan Bouchard for a one-timer to cap Edmonton's comeback in regulation, then scored his first career OT winner to tie the series at 2-2.
Alas, the Edmonton Oilers must travel to Los Angeles for Game 5, slated to face off tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern Time and 7 p.m. on the West Coast. As Verne Lundquist used to say, "them's the rules." LA will try to take advantage of friendlier confines to take a 3-2 series lead, but only as a tiny favorite in Las Vegas.
Spread
- Kings -1.5 (+186)
- Oilers +1.5 (-220)
Moneyline
- Kings -134
- Oilers +119
Total
- Over 6.5 (+105)
- Under 6.5 (-120)
*The above data was collected on April 29, 2025, and may have changed since writing.
Los Angeles Kings vs Edmonton Oilers Betting Trends
- The Kings are 10-4 in their last 14 games.
- Los Angeles' last five home games have gone over the total.
- The total has gone over in four of the Los Angeles Kings' last five games against Edmonton.
- Totals have gone under in 11 of the Oilers' last 14 games on the road.
Los Angeles Kings vs Edmonton Oilers Injury Reports
Los Angeles Kings
- Left winger Tanner Jeannot is week-to-week with an ankle injury.
Edmonton Oilers
- Defenseman Mattias Ekholm is out until after the first round with an undisclosed injury.
Los Angeles Kings vs Edmonton Oilers Predictions and Picks
Edmonton's best statistic of Game 4 wasn't the Oilers' prodigious shots on goal, but a whopping total of 80 combined shot-attempts either blocked by the Kings or that made their way to LA's star goaltender Darcy Kuemper. Barry Petchesky of Defector thinks the Kings would trade their home-ice advantage for more fresh legs midway through a tiring series. LA has looked fatigued for a club that's only in Round 1.
When it comes to double-shifting snipers like Anze Kopitar, "Hiller is taking it to an extreme. When you're functionally icing nine forwards and four defensemen, they wear down," Petchesky points out. Hiller's destructive decision-making at the end of Game 3, in which the Kings blew another lead before losing by three goals, gives the Los Angeles coaching staff a bad look for at least half of the series so far.
Maybe the home-ice angle is deceptive with the Kings and Oilers. LA took the series' early momentum, and now the Oilers have the mojo back. Pick the star-studded Oilers to claim a road win at nice odds.
