WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES

EDMONTON, AB — As the Los Angeles Kings touched down in very familiar postseason territory, they do so in a very unfamiliar position.

For the first time in their four season Stanley Cup playoffs dance with the Edmonton Oilers, not only have the Kings forged a 2-0 series lead (something neither team has done previously), but they have the opportunity to put their postseason nemesis on the brink of elimination with a victory on Friday night at what stands to be a raucous Rogers Place.

Except for the few that experienced the championship runs of 2012 and 2014 (there are three: Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty and Trevor Lewis), this group of players haven’t enjoyed an edge of this type in a Kings sweater. Defenseman Joel Edmundson, who proves to be more valuable as the season lengthens, did achieve Stanley Cup glory in 2019 with the worst-to-first St. Louis Blues, but the balance of the roster has only experienced the wrong side of the handshake line after 7, 6 or 5 games in early May since 2022.

The gap between the Oilers and Kings widened with each playoff loss, the last one being the most decisive. Not only did they lose in five games, but they were bullied by the more physical and talented opponent, which in retrospect was a call to action for the organization. The collective 11-4 line score of the final three games only told part of the story, by the time the clock ran out in a 4-3 Game 5 defeat, it was obvious that the roster as constituted wasn’t the right mix of talent that could achieve playoff success.

Though averaging 99 points over three seasons is nothing to apologize for, as half the teams in the National Hockey League would sign today for that body of work, getting to the post-season and then immediately exiting was no longer acceptable and was amplified by being eliminated each time by a division rival.

It was fair to criticize the front office, led by General Manager Rob Blake, for the team’s failure to go on a deep playoff run over his seven seasons of stewardship (Los Angeles lost a fourth playoff series previous to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018). Though calls from some corners for his dismissal went unheeded due to ownership non-reactionary view of playoff failure, the clock had to be ticking on Blake’s tenure as he undertook what was a pivotal off-season.

We’ve outlined the moves that were made in the off-season, starting with the return of Head Coach Jim Hiller, a mild surprise given that most interim coaches don’t survive a five-game playoffs wipeout and concluded with a trade deadline deal that caused only a ripple when announced but has sent shockwaves, a positive one through both his team and their opponents.

Andrei Kuzmenko arrived as an afterthought in the scheme of things, and it was warranted as the Kings were the third team he suited up for in the 2024-25 campaign. He is only two seasons removed from his 39-goal rookie season in Vancouver but the regression in his production resulted in two trades (he was not the featured player in either) and when he arrived in Los Angeles, his six goals in 44 games was had no one thinking he would be the one to galvanize a struggling offense.

Hiller’s propensity to experiment throughout his first full season as the Kings bench boss was at its peak when Kuzmenko was placed on the Kings most senior forward line with Kopitar and Adrian Kempe (whose playoff production – 14 goals in 20 games against Edmonton – has been muted by the lack of team success). His addition did not yield immediate results, as zero points in his first seven games raised questions about the decision to not acquire a more proven player. He appeared likely to be moved to the bottom-six forwards group. Hiller allowed the Russian winger some time to adjust, and the Kings achieved a 6-1 record in those games. The team’s situation could have been far different if the record had been reversed.

But now, instead of being a no-risk move that didn’t work out (a third-round pick in 2027, an asset that may not pay off for the Flyers until the next decade), if Kuzmenko continues his level of play, the trade may approach the level of impact that Kings fans saw when former GM Dean Lombardi brought in Jeff Carter and Marian Gaborik (granted those players are far superior in talent but the change in the offense is clearly due to Kuzmenko’s presence) and have some clamoring for a long-term extension for the 29-year-old winger.

When deadline deals are made, it’s usually a far bigger name that provides the level of impact provides. But the reality is that the Oilers now face the daunting task of winning four of the last five games of this series (with two in Los Angeles) not because of one player but because of all 23.

In another year, the Kings lose Game 1 when Connor McDavid took over the game late in the third period. The ghosts of the past three playoff seasons were ready to materialize at Crypto.com Arena and steal a game that should have been sealed far earlier, they certainly wouldn’t have responded 36 seconds later to stun an Edmonton team, which thought when, not if, they would steal it.

In another year, a team whose DNA is still built on its defensive play doesn’t score 12 goals in its first two playoff games by scoring five powerplay goals in 10 attempts. Those numbers were reserved for McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as most surmised that would be the difference in the fourth go-around.

Special teams have been the difference as the Oilers defense has been exposed regularly by a team that has confidence in its offense, the same offense that registered 15 goals in a 10-game stretch in mid-January.

Regardless of its final playoff destiny, this is not the same team of the past three playoff seasons.

When it comes to stretches, the Kings present one has operated under the radar around the NHL with the Ovechkin chase to 895 and the Blues 12-game winning streak getting more attention. The Game 2 victory over Edmonton has extended the record to 19-5 over the last 24 games (the last loss was in a meaningless Game 82 against Calgary), and it comes at the most critical time of the season.

The Kings have done it with the facets you need to win in the playoffs, rolling multiple lines, reliability between the pipes and pushing back when pushed. Their dangerous players have finished their chances, there’s comfort in playing at home and when it’s a win, the locker room posing for social media to see is togetherness not present since Stanley visited LA twice.

But make no mistake, Friday night in Edmonton will be Los Angeles’ most difficult game of the season.

This series is not over, as a wounded Oilers team with two elite players has been here before. They faced the abyss last June in the Stanley Cup Final and rallied from a deeper hole against the eventual champion Florida Panthers. Though it’s a cliché that a playoff series doesn’t start until the home team loses, it rings true. This may not be a Game 7 for the Oilers, but it’s Game 6.5 with the state of the Oilers defense and goaltending and an inferior supporting cast to the one that came within a goal of a championship.

Los Angeles is certain to face a desperate team, and they must match that desperation to put them in a position to clinch the series on Sunday night.