Previewing Oilers vs. Kings: Will Edmonton keep dominating Los Angeles in the postseason?

Call it the third annual Wayne Gretzky Bowl.

The "Great One"'s first two teams, the Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings, meet the in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third season in a row.

The series begins Monday at Edmonton's Rogers Place at 10 p.m. ET.

The Oilers won both of the previous series - in seven games in 2022 and in six games last season - and are favored to make it three straight. That's mostly because Edmonton still has the NHL's Dynamic or Devastating Duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. They're the Dynamic Duo if you're rooting for the Oilers and the Devastating Duo if you're rooting against them.

McDavid had 132 points this season and - along with Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning - became one of only five players in NHL history to finish with 100 assists in a campaign. The others are Gretzky (11 times), Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr. For his part, Draisaitl had 41 goals and 106 points.

Coach Kris Knoblauch, who took over early in the season after Jay Woodcroft was fired, has mostly been able to keep McDavid and Draisaitl on separate lines 5-on-5 because of the production of wingers Zach Hyman (54 goals), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evander Kane.

But the Kings, who also undergone a coaching change with Jim Hiller replacing Todd McLellan in February, have two of the league's best defensive centers in Phillip Danault and Anze Kopitar. Kopitar remains outstanding offensively (26-44-70) despite being 36 years old. So, in theory, they could be able to limit McDavid and Draisaitl separately.

But Edmonton has beaten Los Angeles three out of four regular-season games this season and has taken 8-of 12 from the Kings over the last three campaigns. 

It looks like Gretzky's original team still has the advantage.