The Los Angeles Kings faced early trouble when star defenseman and future Hall of Famer Drew Doughty went down with an ankle injury in the preseason. Despite missing one of their top anchors, the Kings powered through the regular season, racking up wins and locking down the No. 2 seed in the Pacific Division with a 48-25-9 record and 105 points.
On Monday night at Crypto.com Arena, they came out firing, building a four-goal cushion before fending off a late surge from the Edmonton Oilers to secure a 6-5 victory in a wild Game 1 of their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs clash.
“I’m so happy we won that game because that would have been a shitty game to lose,” Drew Doughty remarked in his postgame interview via Elliotte Friedman.
Doughty and the Kings could finally laugh it off after nearly blowing a big lead, knowing they still pulled off the win in the end.
Doughty craves a return to championship hockey, and the Kings haven’t won a playoff series since hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2014. He hasn’t held back about the ongoing drought, often expressing how much it stings to sit out of deep postseason runs.
Kings escaping the Oilers
Kings center Phillip Danault netted the game-winner for the Kings—his second goal of the night—with just 41 seconds remaining, capping off a wild finish after the Kings had once held a 4-0 lead late in the second period. Andrei Kuzmenko, Quinton Byfield, Adrian Kempe, and Kevin Fiala also found the back of the net for Los Angeles.
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Kuzmenko’s first-period goal and Fiala’s third-period finish both came on the power play, breaking through an Oilers penalty kill that hadn’t allowed a power-play goal in 12 chances during last year’s playoff series against the Kings.
Leon Draisaitl, Mattias Janmark, Corey Perry, Zach Hyman, and Connor McDavid all scored for the Oilers. Hyman and McDavid struck just 36 seconds apart late in the third period after Edmonton pulled their goalie. McDavid’s equalizer, which tied the game at 5-5, came with just 1:28 left on the clock.
But Danault answered back just seconds later, slipping a knuckling shot past Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner to reclaim the lead.
The Kings, aiming to break a three-year playoff skid against Edmonton, flipped the script by winning Game 1 at home—unlike previous years when they took the opener in Edmonton but still dropped the series. This time, they struck first at Crypto.com Arena, where they notched a franchise-best 31 wins during the regular season.
Los Angeles’ playoff hopes could ride on Drew Doughty's impact. A strong showing from the veteran defenseman might spark a deep postseason push, but if the Kings fall short again, their title drought would drag on.
Doughty's return brings both opportunity and pressure, especially given LA’s playoff history with Edmonton. His performance and toughness could ultimately decide how far the Kings go this spring.
