Oilers face Kings with Pacific playoff positioning up in the air

Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid, left, moves the puck against Los Angeles Kings defenceman Brian Dumoulin during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026 in Los Angeles.

Could they meet yet again, for a fifth straight season, in this year’s National Hockey League playoffs?

It’s possible but increasingly unlikely, given the Edmonton Oilers have just three games left in their regular-season schedule and the Los Angeles Kings four.

The Oilers visit the division-rival Kings on Saturday afternoon (2 p.m. MT) with nothing set in stone as far as playoff positioning goes in the Pacific Division, but if Edmonton gets at least a point against L.A. – or if the Winnipeg Jets lose in regulation to the Philadelphia Flyers – they clinch a spot in the post-season.

Heading into NHL action on Friday, the Oilers (40-29-10) hold down first place by one point over both the Vegas Golden Knights (36-26-17) and the Anaheim Ducks (42-32-5), while the Kings (33-26-19) are five back of the division leader and occupy the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference.

An Oilers win would go a long way toward preventing the Kings from leapfrogging the Utah Mammoth, who hold the first wildcard position and are five points ahead of L.A.

The Oilers have been first-round winners over the Kings the last four seasons.

L.A. comes into the matinee as winners of their last three games and four in their last five, including Thursday’s 4-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks in which Adrian Kempe scored twice to increase his team-leading goal total to 34. The Oilers earned points in seven of their last eight games, including a five-game win streak, their longest of the season.

Edmonton is coming off a 5-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday that saw star Connor McDavid record five points, including his 15th career hat-trick. His 133 points this season are six more than the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov in the race for the NHL scoring title and the second-most McDavid has had in a season. He scored 153 points three years ago.

McDavid needs three more goals over the Oilers’ final three games to reach 50 for the second time in his career, although the captain said individual achievements are not top of mind for him.

“We’ve got to punch our ticket,” McDavid told reporters after Wednesday’s game. “We’ve got three games left. We’ve still got to punch our ticket to the playoffs. Those individual things are nice but not at the top of mind.”

Refined points

• Both goalie Connor Ingram and centre Jason Dickinson left Wednesday’s win with undisclosed injuries, but general manager Stan Bowman told team insider Bob Stauffer on Thursday’s Oilers Now radio show that their ailments are not serious.
• Bowman also told Stauffer that star centre Leon Draisaitl will skate with the team next week after the Oilers’ road trip and “is progressing well,” while sniper Zach Hyman “will be fine for the playoffs as well.” Draisaitl’s been out of action since March 15, while Hyman has sat out the last three games and won’t play Saturday.

Projected Oilers lineup

Forward

• Vasily Podkolzin • Connor McDavid • Matt Savoie
• Kasperi Kapanen • Ryan Nugent-Hopkins • Jack Roslovic
• Colton Dach • Josh Samanski • Trent Frederic
• Max Jones • Adam Henrique • Curtis Lazar

Defence

• Mattias Ekholm • Evan Bouchard
• Darnell Nurse • Connor Murphy
• Jake Walman • Ty Emberson

Goal

• Tristan Jarry • Connor Ingram