Los Angeles Kings vs. Edmonton Oilers Pick and Prediction – May 1, 2024

LOS ANGELES KINGS VS. EDMONTON OILERS EXPERT PICK AND PREDICTION – May 1, 2024 — The Oilers answered the biggest question on the docket in Game 4: could they play and win a low-scoring game? They managed it with a 1-0 win over Los Angeles in Game 4, a rarity given how well the Oilers move the puck.

The new question is: are the shot totals from that game going to become the normal for the rest of this series? If they are, the Kings still have hope.

Related: Stanley Cup Playoff Betting Strategies

Los Angeles recorded 33 shots on goal to just 13 for Edmonton, yet the Oil turned aside all of them. That’s not going to happen every night, and if the Kings are back on track and ready to keep shooting when they can, they’ll be in fine position to turn this series around.

But the problem is simple: it feels like Game 4 was Los Angeles’ best punch to throw in this series. The Kings simply don’t have the talent that the Oilers do up top, which is why they’ve been a step behind throughout this series. And Edmonton knows that if it wins here, it can get in some much-needed rest before a likely meeting with Vancouver in the next round. Needless to say, both teams will be going hard to pull off a victory here.

The Odds

Puck Drop

When: Wednesday, May 1 at 10 p.m. EST

Where: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta

TV: ESPN

Public Bets: 89% on Edmonton

Public Money: 91% on Edmonton

Odds courtesy of DraftKings, as of April 30th, 2024

Los Angeles Kings vs. Edmonton Oilers In-Season Trends

The biggest trend in this series is what Edmonton has done to the Los Angeles power play. The Kings aren’t Tampa Bay with the man advantage (and Florida won that battle with the Lightning anyway), but they’re one of the better teams in the league with the power play at 12th overall.

Related: Angell’s Sports Analysis – Where Might the PWHL Expand?

Not so against the Oilers. The Kings are 0-for-11 on the power play in this series and 0-for-15 in their past six meetings against Edmonton. The last time the Kings converted a power play against the Oilers came Feb. 10 in their only win over Edmonton this year. Otherwise, Los Angeles has fired blanks, and its scores reflect that.

In the past seven meetings between the teams, Los Angeles has scored two goals or less five times. That’s not a recipe for beating Edmonton, which has scored four or more in six of the past seven matchups.

Players to Watch

Stopping the combination of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl might happen once, but it’s not likely to happen in consecutive games. Both of them had three points in Game 3, and that’s more likely to be around where they end up. Taking one of both of them to put up a big game makes a lot of sense as a prop.

Related: Golden Knights vs. Stars Pick and Prediction

Adrian Kempe got nothing in the two games at home, but he scored three goals in the two games in Edmonton. With this game likely to be fairly wide open and Kempe the only one willing to keep firing, he’s the most likely King to score.

The Pick

Los Angeles is finding out the same lesson as the past two years: the Kings just cannot beat the Oilers head-to-head. The Kings haven’t won a playoff series since they lifted the Cup in 2014, and it doesn’t look like that’s changing anytime soon. Los Angeles has just been treading water for the past decade, and that doesn’t work in a division that’s loaded with the Golden Knights and the Oilers.

Edmonton might have its problems with the elite teams in the West, but the Oil certainly has this matchup figured out. This series should end tonight.