McDavid, Oilers may regret conceding extremely crucial home-ice advantage to Kings in Round 1 of 2025 NHL playoffs

The Edmonton Oilers 5-0 implosion on Monday night at Rogers Place cost them home-ice advantage for the first round of the 2025 NHL playoffs. Edmonton entered Monday night’s tilt two points behind the second-place Los Angeles Kings. A win would have pulled both clubs even with 101 points.

However, Connor McDavid’s team collapsed, taking a total of 53 penalty minutes with frustration boiling over in the second and third periods. It was 4-0 by the end of 40 minutes on the strength of two power play goals surrendered by the Oilers.

The win gave the Los Angeles Kings home-ice advantage for their first-round meeting with the Edmonton Oilers in the 2025 NHL playoffs. That situation means the Oilers will open on the road for at least the first two rounds.

Edmonton is 22-16-2 on the road this season. While not a bad record, the Oilers may regret giving up home-ice advantage as the Kings are 31-5-4 at home this year. Conversely, the Kings are 16-19-5 away from Crypto.com Arena.

Those numbers paint a bleak picture for Connor McDavid and his squad. Had they pushed the Kings on Monday night, the team could have come away with a chance to lock up home-ice advantage for themselves.

They didn’t, and now they face an uphill battle as they look to take the first two games from the team with the best home record in the NHL this season.

The Oilers regretted keeping McDavid out of lineup against Kings

The Oilers decided to keep Connor McDavid out of the lineup on Monday night against the Kings. The team decided to rest McDavid, Zach Hyman, and Troy Stecher, with Leon Draisaitl, Trent Frederic, and Jake Walman still nursing injuries.

The result was the disastrous loss against the Kings, which cost them home-ice advantage. It’s evident that Edmonton is more focused on the 2025 NHL playoffs at this point than winning their remaining regular-season contests.

However, Edmonton has failed to see the bigger picture. By sitting McDavid, among other regulars, the team opened the door to the demolishing they faced on Monday night. That is not to say that the club iced a bad team.

But when Mattias Janmark plays the role of second-line center, the team rolls with 11 forwards, and does not ice a full lineup, something is definitely not right.

Edmonton is now backing into the playoffs, going 6-4-1 in their last 10. If Monday night’s game was any indication, the team will sit as many regulars as possible in their regular-season finale against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night. That situation could mean the club loses yet another game, potentially derailing any positive momentum heading into the 2025 NHL playoffs.

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Nestor is an NHL and MLB writer at Sportskeeda with over 10 years of experience. Growing up in Toronto, he became an avid Maple Leafs and Blue Jays fan, but also admires the New York Islanders and Los Angeles Dodgers for their dominance in the 80s. Holding an Economics and Education major, Nestor’s passion for writing and sporting events led him to take up reporting about the sport professionally.

Nestor credits the Leafs’ playoff runs in the early ’90s as having a lasting impact on him. His favorite players are Doug Gilmour and Mike Bossy, as he feels they were tough, talented leaders, while Pat Burns is his favorite coach of all time for always preaching a fast-paced game.

Growing up in Canada, it was natural for Nestor to become interested in ice hockey and he played Minor Hockey as a teenager, which has given him a unique perspective on the sport. Nestor has mastered the art of how to best present facts and he also has a knack for knowing which sources can be trusted, and which can’t for stories.

When he is not writing about Canada’s national passion, Nestor enjoys running and hiking.

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Edited by Nestor Quixtan