Oilers face another playoff test after playing awful defense in back-to-back losses to LA Kings

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Edmonton Oilers know how to perform when they're facing playoff series deficits. After all, they went down 0-3 last summer in the Stanley Cup Final and still nearly won it all in Game 7.

But the first two games of their first-round series with the Los Angeles Kings have been disheartening for a team with championship aspirations and an urgency to to do it while Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are at the peak of their talents.

The Oilers have allowed two six-goal performances by the hungry, hard-hitting Kings, making regular defensive mistakes and committing penalties to make it even easier. McDavid and Draisaitl haven't been able to mask their teammates' defensive ineptitude with their usual offensive brilliance.

After getting blown out 6-2 in Game 2 on Wednesday night following a 6-5 loss in Game 1, the Oilers know they need big changes when the series shifts to Edmonton for two games starting Friday night.

“We just have to be better,” said Draisaitl, who has scored a goal in each game. “We've got to dig in, and we've got to be better. And this group has a lot of character in here, so we’ll regroup, let this one go, and go back home and try to bring our best game.”

They'll need a whole lot more than they brought to Hollywood this spring to open the Pacific Division rivals' fourth consecutive first-round playoff meeting.

This offensive powerhouse has been outscored 12-7 — and four of those Oilers goals occurred in the third period of Game 1, when they finally mounted a rally that fell short.

Game 2 was even more one-sided than the opener: Edmonton managed just 15 shots in the final two periods while desperately needing offense to catch up from a 3-0 deficit. McDavid was held scoreless for the third time in his last four playoff games, dating to the final two games against Florida last summer.

Yet the Oilers should be much less worried about their offense than their defense and penalty-killing, which hasn't been able to stop the Kings from doing just about anything they want.

Los Angeles has five power-play goals in the series — an embarrassing number to allow to an opponent with the worst power play among playoff teams in the regular season, even if the unit has improved markedly since the late-season arrival of Andrei Kuzmenko.

The Oilers killed all 12 of the Kings' power plays in last year's first-round matchup, and the first three editions of this annual series were all defined by the Oilers' superiority on special teams.

The difference this year is stark for Edmonton, which isn't playing any element of hockey up to last season's standard — and not just because key defenseman Mattias Ekholm is out for the series with an injury.

Two defeats aren't enough to shake a defending conference champion's belief in itself, but the Oilers realize no team gets more than four playoff games to get itself together.

Edmonton's veterans still radiated confidence after their blowout loss.

“They've capitalized on their opportunities, (but) I think a lot of them are self-inflicted,” Corey Perry said. "Turnovers, run out of position, whatever it is. We shore that up, they don’t have a whole lot going on. I mean, they’ve made some great plays and put the puck in the back of the net, I’m not going to lie about that. They got good players. We clean up our mistakes and we’ll be OK.”

Coach Kris Knoblauch pulled goalie Stuart Skinner in the third period of Game 2 after LA's fifth goal, the 11th allowed by Skinner in the series. Perhaps Knoblauch was hoping to spark his team for an improbable comeback — or perhaps he wanted Calvin Pickard to get some ice time ahead of a goalie change in Game 3. Skinner got 50 starts for Edmonton this season, and Pickard made 31.

“We’ve seen this team face difficult situations, a lot more difficult than it is right now,” Knoblauch said. “There’s no quit in this group. It’s certainly not an ideal situation, but we certainly won’t panic.”

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Edmonton Oilers center Adam Henrique yells at a member of the Los Angeles Kings as a linesman holds him back while defenseman Drew Doughty watches during the third period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl is congratulated by teammates after scoring during the second period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Kings Monday, April 21, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl moves the puck during the first period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Kings, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl, second from left, celebrates his goal with teammates during the second period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Kings, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Ty Emberson, center, appeals to a linesman after Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar scored as goaltender Stuart Skinner sits in goal during the third period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl, right, is congratulated by defenseman Darnell Nurse after scoring during the second period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Kings, Monday, April 21, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Ty Emberson, right, skates away with a bloody nose after Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar scored as goaltender Stuart Skinner sits in goal during the third period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Kings right wing Adrian Kempe, second from left, celebrates his goal with defenseman Brandt Clarke, left, and left wing Andrei Kuzmenko, second from right, as Edmonton Oilers goaltender Calvin Pickard stands in goal during the third period in Game 2 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)