In the just-completed first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings, the Edmonton Oilers ran the best roster players on the same line for 75 minutes at five-on-five. The total represented about 65 percent of the overall playing time for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in the game state over the course of the series.

Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers are fresh off a sensational come-from-behind series win against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the 2025 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.  The Oilers lost the first two games of that series before finding their groove and stitching together four victories in a row to eliminate Los Angeles in six games.

Edmonton has some depth in its scoring now. Getting Evander Kane back gives them more depth on their second line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman. That third line with Trent Frederic and even the fourth line with Viktor Arvidsson and Mattias Janmark, they can put the pressure on you.