The Edmonton Oilers lost Game 1 of their series with the Los Angeles Kings. Edmonton has defeated the Kings in each of the last three postseasons. However, Connor McDavid and company got off to a bad start in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

McDavid provided his usual impact on the ice. The Edmonton captain scored a goal while adding three assists for a four-point performance. Unfortunately, it was not enough. The Kings raced out to a 4-0 lead before Edmonton got on the board. Despite a third-period comeback, the Kings held on for a 6-5 win at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

There are high expectations for this Oilers team. They certainly have something to live up to after last year's run. McDavid won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP despite Edmonton losing in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Oilers captain recognizes his team has to get things right with Game 2 quickly approaching.

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“I mean, we’re tied with a minute to go. I guess we’re close,” the Oilers captain said Tuesday, via NHL.com's Dan Greenspan. “That being said, they were the better team for 40 minutes, no doubt about that. They were solid. I thought they were just more desperate, more urgent than we were, I would say, in the first 40 minutes. We could definitely feel that right away, so we've got to raise our level of work and be ready to work.”

One key to winning Game 2 for Edmonton is goalie Stuart Skinner. The Edmonton puck stopper allowed all six goals in the opening game loss. He also had some struggles in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. However, McDavid believes his goalie has what it takes to lead them to victory.

“Tough to fault him on many of them,” McDavid said of the goals Skinner allowed, via Greenspan. “What are you going to do when guys are standing in the slot by themselves, you know? Those are freebies that are tough on him. We've got to do a better job of protecting that area.”