It’s only January and it already feels inevitable. Looking at the Pacific Division standings, the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers are likely on yet another collision course in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Byfield logged an assist and two PIM in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Canucks. Byfield ended a four-game slump when he helped out on a Warren Foegele tally in the third period. The 22-year-old Byfield had a strong second half of December,

BOTTOM LINE: The Vancouver Canucks face the Los Angeles Kings in a matchup of Pacific Division opponents. Vancouver is 19-14-10 overall with a 6-3-2 record in Pacific Division play. The Canucks have committed 168 total penalties (3.9 per game) to rank ninth in NHL play.

The Edmonton Oilers will try to keep their five-game home win streak intact when they play the Los Angeles Kings.

Los Angeles Kings (24-11-5, in the Pacific Division ... The Kings won 4-3 in overtime in the previous meeting. Quinton Byfield led the Kings with two goals. TOP PERFORMERS: Evan Bouchard has ...

The Kings were the last NHL team to reach the midpoint of their season. Let's grade every player's contributions so far.

Darcy Kuemper has 29 saves for the Kings, but Connor McDavid scores in the second period and Stuart Skinner stops 30 shots as Edmonton takes the Pacific Division showdown, 1-0.

The Oilers will alter their approach by going with 11 forwards and seven defencemen on Monday night when they host the Kings in a Pacific Division battle at Rogers Place

The Kings and Oilers have been the top-two teams in the League over the last six-and-a-half weeks based on win percentage, with LA edging the Oilers out by only three hundredths (.777 vs. .775) while playing two fewer games since Nov. 27.

The Los Angeles Kings will travel to Western Canada for a showdown with the Edmonton Oilers. It will be a Western Conference playoff rematch as we share our NHL odds series and make a Kings-Oilers prediction and pick.

Welcome back to NHL Predictions here at Last Word on Hockey! Each day of the NHL season, we preview and analyze games to give our predictions. Today, we’ll be taking a closer look at a game between the Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames.

BOTTOM LINE: The Calgary Flames visit the Los Angeles Kings after the Flames knocked off the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in overtime. Los Angeles is 23-10-5 overall with a 6-5-0 record against the Pacific Division. The Kings are 10-1-1 in games they score at least one power-play goal.