Edmonton has won four straight, while Los Angeles is still looking for its first victory. That makes Tuesday’s matchup look straightforward—until you look at how the Kings have played lately. They’ve allowed just two goals in each of their last two games, giving them a plausible way to challenge the Oilers: keep Edmonton’s top line in check long enough for their own offense to make a difference.
Edmonton’s momentum meets a tougher recent test
The Oilers beat San Jose 3-1 on Saturday, with Connor McDavid reaching 13 points and 10 assists for the season. Vasily Podkolzin scored his fifth goal. McDavid, Podkolzin and Leon Draisaitl make up Edmonton’s first forward line for this matchup, so the Kings have a clear group to contain.
Edmonton’s winning streak hasn’t required a high-scoring game every night. Across their last three games, the Oilers have allowed just four goals, winning 3-1, 5-2 and 3-1. That gives their recent success more substance than scoring talent alone.
Los Angeles, meanwhile, lost 2-1 in overtime at Vegas on Saturday. Artemi Panarin scored the Kings’ goal, and Darcy Kuemper made 30 saves. The Kings are 0-2-2, but their last two defeats have both been by a single goal. Their more immediate problem has been generating enough scoring: they managed one goal in each.
A modest favorite, not a mismatch
DraftKings’ moneyline odds make Edmonton a modest favorite at -130, with Los Angeles at +110, despite the contrasting records. Our grades capture the tension: we rate Edmonton’s attack A-, while the Kings earn an A- for goal prevention. Los Angeles’ C- attacking grade is the bigger concern for its chances of turning another competitive game into a win.
Our shooting projections also suggest a fairly even workload—about 29 shots for Edmonton and 28 for Los Angeles. That leaves neither team with a large expected volume advantage. The Kings’ path is to pair another strong defensive performance with more production from the forward line of Quinton Byfield, Panarin and Adrian Kempe.
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Why the 6.5-goal total deserves a closer look
There’s some history behind expecting goals in an Edmonton game. Over bets have won in 55 of the Oilers’ 91 games over the past year, producing a historical profit of 9.42 units on flat one-unit wagers. Those games span different prices and seasons, though, and the recent matchup evidence gives that history a meaningful counterweight.
Kuemper, the expected Kings goalie, has stopped 58 of 62 shots across his last two appearances after allowing eight goals against Colorado. Edmonton’s expected goalie, Devon Levi, has also rebounded from a rough outing: he allowed seven goals against Vancouver, then three combined against Seattle and Anaheim. Neither goalie’s three-appearance sample has been uniformly strong, but their latest outings have been much better.
At a posted total of 6.5, that improvement matters alongside the Kings’ recent scoring struggles. We project roughly three power-play opportunities for each team, and Saturday’s Kings game showed how consequential those chances can be: Los Angeles scored on the power play, then lost on an overtime power-play goal. Special teams offer a route to more scoring even if the goalies maintain their recent form.
The matchup in perspective
Edmonton has the stronger attacking case and the better recent results, but Los Angeles’ improved goal prevention gives the modest moneyline a competitive backdrop. The nearly even shooting projections put the focus on what the Kings can produce from their opportunities: another one-goal effort would leave little room for error against Edmonton’s top line. That same scoring limitation complicates the 6.5-goal total, with power-play chances providing the clearest supported counterweight to the recent lower-scoring results. The goalie rebounds are encouraging, but three appearances each are still a small sample.
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