New Information Reveals Why the Oilers Will Win Game 6 and Eliminate the Kings

The Edmonton Oilers, once criticized as too reliant on power-play scoring, are debunking that as a myth in their first-round series with the LA Kings.

Through five games, the Oilers have tallied 21 goals, 11 at even strength, equaling the Kings in that department. They've scored four power-play goals, adding even more to a very strong even-strength performance.

But the real tale is deeper. The Oilers lead all playoff teams in a 62.16% expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) five-on-five, a definite indication of dominance.

The last-place Kings have only 37.84%, showing how badly Edmonton has controlled the run of play, per MoneyPuck.

NHL analyst Ryan Whitney also believes that the Kings are not playing well at all in the third period of this series, having an extremely tough time closing out games when it matters most.

Edmonton is tops in the league in five-on-five expected goals-for (xGF) at 14.31, ahead of LA at 8.71.

Although the Oilers had only 11 even-strength goals, their quality of chance suggests they were owed more, likely held back by superb goaltending from LA's Darcy Kuemper.

The Kings, on the other hand, have surpassed their xGF, capitalizing on Edmonton's early goaltending woes.

That leaves a 5.6 xGF surplus in Edmonton's pocket, the highest differential in any first-round series. Sure, the 3-2 series lead may have appeared narrow, but advanced metrics indicate the Oilers have outplayed their opponent at even strength.

Initial goaltending struggles and atrocious penalty killing may have covered up that reality, but the underlying performance from Edmonton has been stellar.

For these reasons, it only makes sense that the Oilers will close out the series tonight, in Game 6.