Elton John didn’t exactly sing “Saturday afternoon’s all right for fighting,” but the Kings and Edmonton Oilers will throw blows in a matinee matchup today that could go a long way toward determining their respective paths through the playoffs.

The Oilers are already battered. They have been without captain Connor McDavid, the consensus best player in the world, since March 20 when he extended his scoring streak to 13 games. Edmonton’s leading producer this season – and the third-most prolific in the NHL despite missing games — is Leon Draisaitl, and after returning from one injury and playing 2½ games (five points), Draisaitl left Thursday night’s 3-2 victory over San Jose and did not return.

After the game, Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch had no firm update on Draisaitl and his status for today, though the Oilers did not recall a 13th healthy forward Friday. Oilers TV’s Tony Brar reported that Draisaitl did not practice Friday.

“You never want to miss those guys. You never want your top players not to play because every time they’re not in, it decreases your chances of winning,” Knoblauch told reporters.

Today’s game will be a pivotal meeting between the rivals, who have split the season series, with each team winning its home game and one match still to be played in each venue. They’ll also meet in Edmonton on April 14.

Both prior meetings were decided by one goal. The Kings have won seven of their past nine games and 12 of their last 15. Edmonton has kept pace, going 7-2-1 in its past 10 matches, in part because of former King Viktor Arvidsson’s career-long, three-game goal streak.

The Kings, with the NHL’s best home mark at 28-4-4, hold a two-point lead on the Oilers. That has them in position to host a first-round series after starting the playoffs in Edmonton for three consecutive postseasons and being bounced from the first round each time.

An even larger goal might be coming into focus for the Kings. With their 4-2 victory over Utah HC on Thursday, they gained no additional separation from Edmonton but did close the gap to just three points on Vegas for the Pacific Division lead. There are no head-to-head matches remaining, but the Kings already took care of business by taking three of four showdowns with the Golden Knights.

Thursday’s final score hardly told the whole story in Salt Lake City, where Darcy Kuemper was under siege, with the Kings outshot 16-3 through 20 minutes and 25-10 after 40. A nullified goal, two four-on-four goals and some other unconventional plays helped the Kings grab two points, though Kuemper contributed by far the most to their stolen victory.

Kevin Fiala, who scored a go-ahead goal Thursday, said the Kings dressing room displayed some frustration at the second intermission, but neither panic nor wavering confidence.

“I mean, we didn’t play (well) at all in the first two periods, but Darcy kept us in and then who cares?” Fiala told reporters. “It was a 1-1 game and I think we just flipped the switch, which is awesome. So yeah, it was a good team win.”

Kuemper has turned in 12 straight starts with two or fewer goals allowed. That’s tops in the NHL season.