The Edmonton Oilers host the Los Angeles Kings tonight (April 27) in Game 4 of the Western Conference first round at Rogers Place. Trailing 2-1 in the best-of-seven series, Edmonton is looking for its second consecutive win to draw even with the Kings. After losing Games 1 and 2 at Crypto.com Arena by scores of 6-5 and 6-2, respectively, the Oilers rallied to beat Los Angeles 7-4 at home on Friday (April 25). Edmonton entered the third period trailing 4-3 before scoring four unanswered goals over the final 6:42 of the contest. Here are four keys for Edmonton to win Game 4 and knot the series up at two wins apiece heading back to California for Game 5 on Tuesday (April 29). Oilers Must Avoid Lapses Momentary breakdowns leading to goals against have been an issue all season for the Oilers, and that’s continued in an even more amplified fashion during the playoffs. On four occasions through the first three games, the Oilers have given up a goal less than three minutes after they scored. In Game 1, Edmonton tied things up 5-5 when Connor McDavid put the puck behind Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper at 18:32 of the third period, only to watch L.A. to come right back and get the winning goal from forward Phillip Danault with 42 seconds remaining. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers) On Friday, Edmonton got a massive goal from Connor Brown at 17:19 of the second period to level the scoreboard at 3-3. But before the goal could even be announced, L.A.’s Trevor Moore responded by scoring just nine seconds later. Moore’s goal was a momentum-shifting gut punch that gave Los Angeles the lead heading into the third period, and it nearly proved a fatal blow, were it not for Edmonton’s rally in the late stages of the game. Oilers Must Stay Out of the Box The Oilers are just 5-for-12 on the penalty kill in the series. They have allowed at least two power-play goals in all three games, tying a franchise postseason record for consecutive games allowing multiple power-play goals. Ideally, Edmonton can solve its short-handed woes, but the Oilers are without the services of their top penalty-killer, Mattias Ekholm, and the injured defenceman isn’t returning to action during this series. The best way to combat L.A.’s power play is to simply limit its opportunities. Los Angeles went on the power play five times in each of the first two games, when Edmonton was guilty of taking unnecessary and undisciplined penalties. On Friday, the Kings only had two chances with the man advantage, and while they converted them both, Edmonton crucially stayed out of the penalty box in the third period. The result was a come-from-behind win in the final minutes. Oilers Need to Get Timely Stops Another major factor in the third period on Friday that led to Edmonton winning was the play of goaltender Calvin Pickard. Pickard, who was making his first start of the series after Stuart Skinner got torched for 11 goals on 58 shots combined in Games 1 and 2, shut the door on L.A. during the final frame, stopping all eight shots he faced over the final 20 minutes. It was the first time in the series that the Kings were held scoreless for a period. The veteran netminder was beaten four times on L.A.’s first 17 shots but went 11-for-11 stopping pucks after Moore scored to put the Kings ahead 4-3. Pickard helped keep his team within one goal, and then protected the lead once Edmonton jumped ahead with two goals in 10 seconds, at 13:18 and 13:28 of the third period. Related: 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1 Hub As of Sunday (April 27) morning, it is not yet known whether Pickard or Skinner will get the start for Game 4, but no matter which goalie draws the assignment, the mission is the same. Before Friday, the Kings were a combined 43-0-2 in the regular season and playoffs when scoring three or more goals, so Edmonton can’t rely on winning high-scoring games like Game 3. Oilers Have to Score First The team that has opened the scoring has won all three games of the series. Including the regular season, the last six games between Edmonton and Los Angeles have been won by the squad that scores first. Even though Edmonton eventually fell behind after taking a 2-0 lead in the first period on Friday, the fact that the Oilers weren’t chasing the game from the outset was critical. Los Angeles scored before the midway point of the first period in both Games 1 and 2, and eventually built leads of 4-0 and 3-0, respectively, that proved too much for the Oilers to overcome: as L.A.’s leads grew, Edmonton got further away from its gameplan, and things just seemed to snowball. If the Kings had scored first on Friday, the outcome might have been much different, and not in Edmonton’s favour. The way Game 3 began, with Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scoring just 2:49 after the opening faceoff, is the exact template the Oilers need to follow tonight if they want to turn this series into a best-of-three affair.