Los Angeles Kings vs. Edmonton Oilers: Stanley Cup Playoffs, Game 7 Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 5/14/2022

Western Conference First Round, Game 7

Time: 10 p.m. ET

Venue: Rogers Place, Edmonton, AB

Where to watch: TBS, Sportsnet, Bally Sports Southern California

DraftKings: Oilers -215, Kings +170

BetMGM: Oilers -225, Kings +180

Caesars: Oilers -222, Kings +180

And now for your most unlikely Game 7 of this whole ordeal, we are here discussing the fact that the Los Angeles Kings still have an opportunity to advance to the second round, but the Edmonton Oilers will not be going quietly into the night, apparently.

Perhaps we can look at Game 6 as the biggest lost opportunity for the Kings, and now Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl get one more chance to make the second round and wind up a chance against either the Dallas Stars or Calgary Flames in the second round.

The Oilers lived to see another day with a 4-2 win over the Kings in Game 6, inside Crypto.com Arena, to force the winner-take-all final game in Edmonton. And I have never looked at a game with so much more uncertainty than I have at this moment.

Tyson Barrie scored the go-ahead goal with 5 minutes remaining, and Evander Kane threw up seven fingers to the crowd to the dismay of every Southern California resident.

"We gave it back to them a little bit, but we didn't break and we found a way to get one and I think it shows a lot of character in that group," Barrie said. "And now we've got home ice and we're headed back for Game 7. I think the boys are pretty pumped."

As I sit here trying to think what went wrong with the Kings down the stretch, I can't help but think all the bullets are now out of the chamber. Surviving Game 5 in overtime the way they did, and going early into the third period of Game 6 tied at 2-2, that was the chance.

They didn't get it done, and now have to go back to what would likely be a hostile environment. Even though the group that's established is set to have another chance to carry this team, they're past the hill. There's no way to figure out where they are.

"Somebody a few years ago said that usually the fourth game is the toughest one to win. Pretty sure you guys know who it is," said Kings captain Anze Kopitar, referring to current Calgary Flames coach Darryl Sutter, who led Los Angeles to the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014. "Obviously there's something to it. We would have liked to close it out, but it didn't happen, and we got to move on and look ahead to Saturday."

The only way the Kings win this game is if Mike Smith goes full Mike Smith. Trust me, as we've seen this series, seeing Smith go full pumpkin at 41 years old is very much a possibility. The chance of Smith doing that is likely. But so is likely the chance that Smith understands what's in front of him.

"Hey, it's the playoffs," Kopitar said. "It's going to be tight, and we were down 2-0. It didn't faze us too much. I mean, we knew we had to get one on the power play at some point, so that was big. And then, obviously, (we) tie it up pretty early in the third. Just couldn't push it over the line."

The home team has all the cards here. All the pressure is on them. McDavid doesn't want to fail again. The Oilers get it done. Oilers win 4-2

Kings are 13-9 since 1996 when facing elimination.

Kings are 15-7 this season after allowing three goals ore more in two straight games.

Oilers are 2-2 in Game 7 since 1996

Kings:

Andreas Athanasiou -- Anze Kopitar -- Adrian Kempe

Trevor Moore -- Phillip Danault -- Viktor Arvidsson

Alex Iafallo -- Blake Lizotte -- Dustin Brown

Carl Grundstrom -- Quinton Byfield -- Arthur Kaliyev

Alexander Edler -- Matt Roy

Jacob Moverare -- Sean Durzi

Olli Maatta -- Jordan Spence

Jonathan Quick

Oilers:

Evander Kane -- Connor McDavid -- Jesse Puljujarvi

Zach Hyman -- Leon Draisaitl -- Kailer Yamamoto

Warren Foegele -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Derek Ryan

Derick Brassard -- Ryan McLeod -- Zack Kassian

Brett Kulak -- Cody Ceci

Duncan Keith -- Evan Bouchard

Philip Broberg -- Tyson Barrie

Mike Smith