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Heartbreak Again: LA Kings Eliminated by Oilers in Playoffs for Fourth Straight Year

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— 2 min read

For fans of the Los Angeles Kings, May 1, 2025, marked yet another gut-wrenching chapter in an increasingly painful saga. Despite a promising start to their first-round NHL playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers, the Kings' postseason dreams came crashing down—for the fourth consecutive year at the hands of the same rival. What makes it sting even more? A franchise-record regular season and a near-miraculous rally in Game 6 that came just seconds short of salvation.

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A Familiar Pain: The Kings vs. Oilers Rivalry

Since 2022, the Oilers have been the Kings' postseason tormentors, bouncing them from the playoffs year after year. This season held a glimmer of hope: the Kings finished with 48 wins and 105 points, tying a franchise best. That set high expectations for a breakthrough. When they jumped to a 2-0 series lead in late April, dreams of ending their nearly decade-long drought without a series win seemed plausible.

Game 6: Drama, Desperation, and Defeat

Everything unraveled quickly. After losing three straight, the Kings went into Game 6 on the brink of elimination. Down 5-3 late in the third period, captain Anze Kopitar scored with less than a minute remaining, injecting hope back into the team and its fans.

The Kings pushed hard in the third period trying to erase the two-goal deficit, but it was just too much to overcome.

Just when the comeback felt within reach, heartbreak struck. An empty-net goal from the Oilers with 0.8 seconds left on the clock sealed the Kings' fate, ending the series 4-2. It was a symbolic dagger—delivered with haunting finality in a hostile arena the LA Times dubbed “a house of horrors” for the Kings.

The Curse That Won’t Lift

What was once coincidence now feels like a curse. The Kings haven't won a playoff series since their 2014 Stanley Cup triumph. Since then, the playoffs have been a cycle of rebuilding, hoping, and repeating heartbreak. This season’s elimination was particularly cruel—not only because of the blown 2-0 series lead but also because of the emotional highs and lows of Game 6.

Rogers Place has become a house of horrors for the Kings... this year's loss may be the most painful of the nine playoff series they've dropped to Edmonton.

Now, fans and analysts alike are questioning whether a psychological wall has formed between this team and postseason success. Could offseason changes be on the horizon? Will the team’s core—Kopitar, Doughty, and others—remain intact for another run?

Official Game Highlights

Official Recaps and Reactions

Conclusion

✔️ Another promising season ends in heartbreak for the Kings, continuing a painful playoff drought
✔️ Fans are left questioning what’s next for a team haunted by a recurring postseason nightmare

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