Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Edmonton Oilers will face Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the playoffs

Originally posted on Oilersnation | By Cam Lewis | Last updated 4/19/24

For the third year in a row, the Edmonton Oilers will face the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the playoffs.

The Oilers have pretty much been locked into their spot as the second-place team in the Pacific Division since their loss to the Vancouver Canucks over the weekend, but their first-round opponent was still up in the air on the final day of the regular season on Thursday.

The Vegas Golden Knights dropped their season finale to the Anaheim Ducks by a score of 4-1, leaving the door open for the Kings to pass them in the standings. Los Angeles carried a 3-1 lead into the third period of their game against the Chicago Blackhawks, allowed three goals in five minutes, tied the game late in the third, and then won by a score of 5-4 in overtime.

Kings win, Vegas loses to Anaheim. It is Vegas/Dallas and LA/EDM https://t.co/2izgDATMwz

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 19, 2024

Vegas finished as the second Wild Card team in the Western Conference, so they’ll face the Dallas Stars in the first round of the playoffs, who finished first in the Central Division with a 52-21-9 record. The Vancouver Canucks, who won the Pacific Division with a 50-23-9 record, will host the Nashville Predators, who finished as the top Wild Card team.

The Oilers and Kings will begin their series with Game 1 coming on Monday night at 8:00 PM MT in Edmonton. Game 2 will be played in Edmonton on Wednesday night, and then the series will shift to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4 on Friday and Sunday.

This will certainly be a familiar matchup. The Oilers are looking to beat the Kings for the third year in a row after winning their first-round series in seven games in 2021-22 and six games in 2022-23. Meanwhile, Los Angeles is looking to make it out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time since their Stanley Cup victory in 2013-14. Edmonton won the regular season series between the two teams with three wins in four meetings.

This article first appeared on Oilersnation and was syndicated with permission.

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