And just like that, it’s a whole new series. Following a 5-4 overtime victory on the road Wednesday night, the Kings now head back home having earned a 1-1 split in Edmonton. Coach Jim Hiller’s squad needed to have a better start than they did in a dismal Game 1, and they did so. A pair of goals from Adrian Kempe in the opening frame quickly established the momentum in LA’s favor. Over the past two years, Kempe has proven to be a player who gives Edmonton serious trouble; he now has eight goals in his last eight contests against the Oilers. The second of his goals on Wednesday will raise the ..read more

With one win in the books, there’s only one more to go. Ontario claimed their first victory of the 2024 postseason with a 5-1 victory over Bakersfield in Game One of their opening round series. With Wednesday’s success on home ice, the Reign now need only one more win over the Condors in their next two games to advance to the second round. Straight off the opening faceoff at Toyota Arena, playoff intensity was obvious and on display, as every check was finished and most stoppages in play were accompanied by scrums. After a scoreless first period, Ontario opened the scoring in the middle frame ..read more

It was the Edmonton Oilers who got off to a hot start in their best-of-seven series Monday night, putting a beating on the Kings in a 7-4 goal fest at Rogers Place. Coming into Game Two, not much needs to be said for LA except for the obvious… they have to be better. For lack of a better term, the performance on Monday was embarrassing. Most of the contest featured an LA team that looked outmatched in every aspect of the game. Meanwhile, Connor McDavid was able to do whatever he pleased at any place on the ice, leading to a five-assist effort from the future Hall of Fame forward. If LA doesn ..read more

Follow @mayorNHL Enjoy a free replay of this week’s Mayor’s Minutes on NHL Network Radio, where John Hoven joined host Jim ‘Boomer’ Gordon to break down the Kings-Oliers first round playoffs series. They looked at what went wrong in Game One and what moves coach Jim Hiller needs to make for Game Two. Today’s radio segment can be heard using the player below or download any of our audio files for free on the MayorsManor iTunes page located here ..read more

Game 1 is over, and Game 2 is less than 24 hours away. Meaning there’s no better time than now for an all-new Kings Of The Podcast episode to break it all down. Co-hosts John Hoven and Dennis Bernstein share their thoughts on LA’s pitiful performance on Monday and offer their perspective on what it will take to turn things around and even the series on Wednesday. Among the key topics discussed were: — Defensive struggles — Lack of physicality — Talbot vs. Rittich in Game 2 — Ontario beginning the AHL Calder Cup playoffs — LA’s 2024-25 salary cap overage — A quick loop around the other Stanley ..read more

Monday night was not how the Kings wanted to start their 2024 postseason run. Edmonton ran away with Game 1, taking the opening contest of their first-round series against LA by a score of 7-4. Oilers forward Zach Hyman picked up right where he left off after a 54-goal regular season, scoring a hat trick to almost single-handedly finish off the Kings himself. Hyman excels in high-danger areas around the net and he unsurprisingly potted all three of his goals in Game 1 from in tight. To their credit, after falling behind 4-0, the Kings made it a two-goal game after 40 minutes off goals from Mi ..read more

Enjoy a free replay of John Hoven on Edmonton Radio, where he joined the Lowdown with Lowtide show to share some thoughts about this year’s Kings-Oliers playoffs series. What’s changed, what’s the same, and which players could play key roles? They discuss all of that and several other pertinent topics heading into Game One on Monday night. Today’s radio segment can be heard using the player below or download any previous appearances for free on the MayorsManor iTunes page located here. RELATED CONTENT: Kings and Oilers: Reasons for Optimism in LA and the Other 1-3-1 Follow @mayorNHL Note ..read more

Hello, old friend. Could it have gone any other way? It seemed like destiny for these two familiar foes to meet once again in Round 1. For the third consecutive season, the Kings will take on Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. It’s been a rollercoaster of a season for LA. They went through a record-breaking winning streak on the road, a span of three wins in seventeen games leading into the All-Star break, and eventually fired their head coach. Although many things have changed, there is still plenty of reason to hold onto that optimism many felt heading into 2023-24. Last summer, GM Rob ..read more

For the third consecutive year, the Los Angeles Kings are set to go head-to-head with the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of postseason play. With Game One scheduled for Monday night, both teams had a couple of days rest before another grueling series begins. In speaking with media at Crypto.com Arena following the Kings final regular season contest on Thursday, coach Jim Hiller emphasized it’s a myriad of things that lead to where teams wind up in the standings. For example, if LA hadn’t scored a game-tying goal late against Chicago in Game 82, they most likely would have been flying to D ..read more

If there was a game to forget for the Ontario Reign, count Sunday’s matinee in Colorado against the Eagles as a primary target. Heading into the final regular season contest, coach Marco Sturm appointed days off for Ontario forwards Samuel Fagemo, Tyler Madden, and T.J. Tynan. So without a few of their mainstays, the Reign coaching staff used Game 72 as a chance to shuffle lines and experiment a bit. Two such changes included Charles Hudon drawing back into the lineup after missing 11 of the past 13 games, along with defenseman Jack Millar — a collegiate graduate who signed a professional try ..read more