While being idle tonight, the Los Angeles Kings have officially punched their ticket to the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs.
It has been a wild year, but the Kings are heading to the playoffs for the first time since the 2017-18 season. While the Kings were in Seattle in their hotel rooms, they probably kept a close eye on the Stars/Golden Knights game. The result was simple for the LA: a Golden Knights loss in any fashion, and they secure their spot in the playoffs.
The Stars and Golden Knights went to a shootout tied at two, and nobody could solve goalies Jake Oettinger and Logan Thompson. It wasn’t until Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen beat Logan Thompson with a backhand blocker side in the 7th round. All that was needed was a Jake Oettinger save. William Karlsson was tasked to extend the game for the Golden Knights, and Oettinger shut the door to officially punch the Kings’ ticket to the playoffs.
AND THEY'RE BACK 👑
The @LAKings have punched their ticket to the #StanleyCup Playoffs! pic.twitter.com/gDU9UkMwzX
— NHL (@NHL) April 27, 2022
Who will they face?
The Kings not only have secured a playoff spot, but they have secured 3rd place in the Pacific Division and will face the Edmonton Oilers in the first round. For those old enough to remember, the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers had some great playoff battles when the teams were in the Smythe Division back in the 1980s.
For the 8th time ever and first time in 30 years, the @EdmontonOilers and @LAKings will meet in the #StanleyCup Playoffs.
The Oilers own a 5-2 series edge and eliminated the Wayne Gretzky-led Kings in their last meeting (1992 DSF). #NHLStats: https://t.co/v6eVzaaW4Q pic.twitter.com/Pc8uKHUy4M
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 27, 2022
The last playoff meeting between the two teams was 1992, and 30 years later, they’re back at it. The Kings will start the series in Edmonton for games one and two before heading back to Los Angeles for games three and four.
The Kings won the first meeting against the Oilers in Edmonton by a final score of 5-1. They scored three power-play goals late in the third period to ice the game. However, the Oilers won the last three meetings to win the season series (3-1-0) over the Kings.
When does the series start?
The Stanley Cup playoffs begin May 2nd. That is next Monday. May 2nd is also when the Kings and Oilers square off for game one as well.
The rest of the series schedule hasn’t been released (at least to my knowledge) just yet. Perhaps over the weekend, it will be finalized. But for now, the series starts Monday, May 2nd.
What you should do:
First, send the Dallas Stars a thank you letter. Second, go ahead and purchase your playoff tickets, Kings fans! Playoff hockey is back in Los Angeles, and let’s get Crypto.com Arena rocking.
(Main photo credit: LA Kings)