Los Angeles Kings (47-25-10) vs. Edmonton Oilers (50-23-9)
The first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup continues Wednesday, April 19, with the Western Conference showdown from Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, so we bring you the best Kings vs. Oilers betting pick and odds.
The puck drop is set for 10:00 PM ET. After taking Game 1 as +180 underdogs, the Kings hope to pull off another upset in Canada. Los Angeles opens as a +184 dog for Game 2, while Edmonton is a -205 home fave with a total of 6.5 goals.
The Los Angeles Kings outlasted the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in overtime this past Monday to grab a lead in their first-round playoff series. The Kings were down 2-0 at the end of the second period and 3-1 with 11:14 to go in the third. Adrian Kempe cut the deficit with 8:37 left on the clock, while Anze Kopitar scored a power-play goal with 17 seconds remaining to force overtime.
Alex Iafallo scored another power-play goal to decide the winner, and Kopitar finished Game 1 with three assists. The Kings were outshot 40-35, but they went 2-for-6 with the man advantage, and Joonas Korpisalo posted 37 saves.
“Alex is kind of our unsung hero,” Kings head coach Todd McLellan said of Iafallo. “He cleans up. Assistant coach Trent Yawney always says he cleans up a lot of messes. Errors, mistakes, for teammates, he seems to be the cleanup guy. But on the other side of it, he has the ability to score. He can go up and down the lineup, penalty kills, and blocks shots.
THAT'S AN LA KINGS GAME 1 WIN pic.twitter.com/zFsZNLPVuu
— x – LA Kings (@LAKings) April 18, 2023
The Kings finished the regular season with 104 points, sitting at the third spot in the Pacific Division. They were scoring 3.34 goals per game (tied-10th in the NHL) while surrendering 3.10 goals in return (16th). Joonas Korpisalo was 18-14-4 with a 2.87 GAA and .915 save percentage, and the 28-year-old netminder has gone 7-3-1 with a 2.13 GAA since joining the Kings from Columbus in March.