Oilers ready for ‘new challenge’ entering Game 1 against Kings: McDavid

LOS ANGELES -- Connor McDavid is looking forward to the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He's not concerned with how the Edmonton Oilers arrived at this point.

Instead, Edmonton is entering Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round against the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.Com Arena on Monday (10 p.m. ET; FDSNW, ESPN2, TVAS2, SN) focused on the task at hand.

“It doesn’t matter what happened the year before, what went on all year. It doesn’t matter where you start (the series), nothing,” McDavid said Sunday. “It’s a new challenge and we’re excited about that opportunity to get back to this point in the season and get rolling.”

Edmonton has eliminated Los Angeles in the first round in each of the previous three seasons, but playoff results do not carry over from one year to another, so it means little going into this edition of the series.

Los Angeles finished second in the Pacific Division, four points ahead of Edmonton, and has home-ice advantage on this occasion. Despite starting on the road and being the lower-seeded team, McDavid likes the Oilers chances of advancing in the best-of-7 series.

“We’re as healthy as we’ve been in a while, guys are excited, guys are energized, guys are fresh,” he said. “It seems like things are coming together at the right time, which is a good thing. It’s tough to be banged up and be playing in the playoffs. Thankfully, we’re getting healthy, and at the right time.”

Edmonton sustained a rash of injuries in the final weeks of the regular season. As a result, the Oilers have not played with what could be deemed a completely healthy lineup since March 4, and McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have not played in the same game since a 7-1 win against the Utah Hockey Club on March 18.

McDavid, who finished the season with 100 points (26 goals, 74 assists) in 67 games, missed eight games with a lower-body injury he sustained in a 4-3 overtime loss against the Winnipeg Jets on March 20 before returning to play in four of the final five games (the one he missed was for precautionary reasons).

It was the fifth consecutive season McDavid had at least 100 points and the eighth time in his 10 seasons.

Draisaitl, who reached the 100-point mark (52 goals, 54 assists in 71 games) for the fourth straight season and the sixth time in his career, will return in Game 1 after missing the final seven games of the season with a lower-body injury he sustained in a 3-2 win at the San Jose Sharks on April 3. The Oilers forward won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the League’s leading goal-scorer.

Draisaitl is also confident heading into the playoffs.

“We had another 100-point season (101 points) and probably, at times, didn’t play our best hockey,” Draisaitl said. “That’s what makes me very optimistic about us being a good team with some of the best players in the world that can make a big-time difference. I like where our head is at, I like where our group is at. We’re ready to go.”

Along with Draisaitl, forward Zach Hyman will return for Game 1. He missed the last three games of the season with an undisclosed injury. Defenseman Jake Walman is also expected to play after sitting out the last five games with an undisclosed injury.

Defensemen Mattias Ekholm (undisclosed), Troy Stecher (undisclosed), and forward Trent Frederic (ankle) are still out. Ekholm is expected to miss the entire series. Forward Evander Kane (sports hernia, knee), and defenseman John Klingberg (lower body) have yet to be activated off injured reserve.

Because of all the injuries, Edmonton has been unable to put together a consistent lineup leading into the postseason, but that does not concern Draisaitl.

“We have one new player that’s going to come in at some point that has only played one game with us (Frederic), other than that, we’ve all played together,” Draisaitl said. “We’ve played together plenty of times. It’s just a matter of going out there, having the right mindset and getting to work.”

Defenseman Brett Kulak did not practice on Sunday, returning to Alberta to accompany his wife in anticipation of the birth of their second child. Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch hopes he will be back for Game 1.

Knoblauch has been busy getting the lineup sorted with so many players out, but he likes the state of the Oilers, who are looking to go on another extended playoff run after making it to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last season.

“I feel very confident with it, just because we have a lot of very good hockey players,” Knoblauch said. “Ultimately, that’s the most important thing, is having a lot of good players. Now, constructing it and putting the guys in the right positions to play on the power play and penalty kill, lines and stuff like that is important, but the most important is having a good group of guys, and we have that.”