Earlier this season, Daily Faceoff’s Paul Pidutti released an article looking at the true contenders looking at historical examples. Four of the six teams have won a Stanley Cup in the 2020s, with the exception of the Oilers and the Dallas Stars.
Last season was the first time since the 2021 postseason that the team that hoisted the Stanley Cup didn’t have to defeat the Oilers in their run, as the Oilers fell in six games to the Anaheim Ducks in the first round. In turn, the Oilers made some changes and have begun the season 6-1-1 despite a plethora of injuries.
Their schedule will get a bit tougher moving forward, with the Hurricanes being the second game of a five-game home stand. That being said, how have the Oilers fared against Stanley Cup winners in the 2020s?
Carolina HurricanesDue to being an Eastern Conference team, the Oilers play the Hurricanes just twice a season, aside from the pandemic-impacted 2020-21 season. In all but one of the last five seasons, the teams have split the season series.
Last season, the Oilers won the game in Raleigh thanks to an overtime goal by Leon Draisaitl just 19 seconds into free hockey. Later that season, the Hurricanes doubled up the Oilers in Edmonton, picking up a 6-3 win despite Zach Hyman’s two goals.
In 2024-25, it was the Hurricanes who won the first game between the teams in overtime, as Sebastian Aho scored with just seven seconds left before the shootout. The Oilers enacted their revenge in March 2025, as Calvin Pickard stopped 35 of 36 shots to earn the game’s first star.
The 2023-24 season saw the Oilers lose the first game 6-3, but they won 6-1 later the season. In 2022-23, the Oilers won the first game 6-4, but fell 7-2 less than a month later. Many things have changed since 2019-20, but the two teams split the season series, with the Hurricanes winning 6-3 in Alberta and the Oilers winning 4-3 in overtime in North Carolina.
The exception to the rule is the 2021-22 season. On Dec. 11, the Oilers fell 3-1 in Edmonton, then lost 2-1 in Raleigh at the end of February. Following Thursday’s game, the two teams will meet in Raleigh on Nov. 2 during the afternoon.
What are the Oilers’ recent regular season results against Carolina?
2025-26: 4-3 Oilers overtime win, 6-3 Hurricanes win
2024-25: 3-2 Hurricanes overtime win, 3-1 Oilers win
2023-24: 6-3 Hurricanes win, 6-1 Oilers win
2022-23: 6-4 Oilers win, 7-2 Hurricanes win
2021-22: 3-1 Hurricanes win, 2-1 Hurricanes win
2019-20: 6-3 Hurricanes win, 4-3 Oilers overtime win
If we’re using historical examples, the Oilers will more than likely split the series with the Hurricanes again.
Florida PanthersThe Florida Panthers hold the distinction as the lone team that have beaten the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Finals in the 2020s, doing it in both 2024 and 2025.
They’ve had similar regular season results in the past 12 meetings to their playoff results. In the two Stanley Cup Finals, the Oilers went 5-8 and are 5-7 in their last 12 regular season matchups.
In the two seasons that the Panthers defeated the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers swept the season series. In 2023-24, the Oilers fell 5-3 in Sunrise, and 5-1 in Edmonton. The following season’s games were closer, but the Oilers fell 6-5 at home in an exciting game, and lost 4-3 on the road.
Unlike the Hurricanes, the Oilers have managed to sweep a season series against the Panthers in the last seven seasons, defeating their cross-country rivals 4-2 on the road in 2022-23, then 4-3 in overtime at home. In the two seasons before, they split the season series, with the road team taking all four games, the same results as the 2025-26 season.
What are the Oilers’ recent regular season results against Florida?
2025-26: 6-3 Oilers win, 4-0 Panthers win
2024-25: 6-5 Panthers win, 4-3 Panthers win
2023-24: 5-3 Panthers win, 5-1 Panthers win
2022-23: 4-2 Oilers win, 4-3 Oilers overtime win
2021-22: 6-0 Panthers win, 4-3 Oilers win
2019-20: 6-2 Panthers win, 4-1 Oilers win
What are the Oilers’ recent postseason results against Florida?
2025 Game 6: 5-1 Panthers win
2025 Game 5: 5-2 Panthers win
2025 Game 4: 5-4 Oilers overtime win
2025 Game 3: 6-1 Panthers win
2025 Game 2: 5-4 Panthers overtime win
2025 Game 1: 4-3 Oilers overtime win
2024 Game 7: 2-1 Panthers win
2024 Game 6: 5-1 Oilers win
2024 Game 5: 5-3 Oilers win
2024 Game 4: 8-1 Oilers win
2024 Game 3: 4-3 Panthers win
2024 Game 2: 4-1 Panthers win
2024 Game 1: 3-0 Panthers win
The first matchup between the teams will be on Nov. 17 in Sunrise. On Jan. 7, the Oilers will host the Panthers.
Vegas Golden KnightsThe last Western Conference team to win the Stanley Cup was the Vegas Golden Knights back in 2023. They defeated the Oilers in six games in the Western Conference Semifinals that season, one of two playoff matchups between the teams.
Surprisingly, the Oilers have actually dominated the Golden Knights during the regular season since the start of the 2019-20 season, going 14-6-2. That includes winning three of four games in 2025-26 and splitting the season series in 2024-25. The lone time the Golden Knights have won the season series was back in 2019-20, when the Oilers were 1-1-1 against the 2023 Stanley Cup champions.
In fact, the Oilers even won the season series in 2022-23, winning the first game 4-3 in overtime, the second game 4-3 in regulation, and the final game 7-4 in regulation. Their lone blemish in the 2022-23 season was a 4-3 overtime loss.
However, the Golden Knights were the superior team during their 2023 second-round matchup. The teams split the first four games, but the Knights won Game 5 by a score of 4-3, before winning the deciding Game 6 by a score of 5-2.
In the 2025 postseason, the Oilers were dominant, taking the first two games in Sin City by a score of 1-0 and 3-0. A literal last-second goal in Game 3 saw the Golden Knights cut the series lead in half, but it turned out to be their last goal of the 2024-25 season as the Oilers won Game 4 by a score of 3-0, then Kasperi Kapanen scored the lone goal in overtime to win Game 5 by a score of 1-0.
What are the Oilers’ recent regular season results against Vegas?
2025-26: 4-3 Oilers win, 4-2 Oilers win, 4-3 Oilers overtime win, 5-1 Golden Knights win
2024-25: 4-2 Golden Knights win, 1-0 Golden Knights win, 6-3 Oilers win, 3-2 Oilers win
2023-24: 5-4 Oilers shootout win, 3-1 Golden Knights win, 5-1 Oilers win
2022-23: 4-3 Oilers overtime win, 4-3 Oilers win, 4-3 Golden Knights overtime win, 7-4 Oilers win
2021-22: 5-3 Oilers win, 3-2 Oilers win, 4-0 Golden Knights win, 4-0 Oilers win
2019-20: 4-2 Oilers win, 3-0 Golden Knights win, 3-2 Golden Knights overtime win
What are the Oilers’ recent postseason results against Vegas?
2025 Game 5: 1-0 Oilers overtime win
2025 Game 4: 3-0 Oilers win
2025 Game 3: 4-3 Golden Knights win
2025 Game 2: 5-4 Oilers overtime win
2025 Game 1: 4-2 Oilers win
2023 Game 6: 5-2 Golden Knights win
2023 Game 5: 4-3 Golden Knights win
2023 Game 4: 4-1 Oilers win
2023 Game 3: 5-1 Golden Knights win
2023 Game 2: 5-1 Oilers win
2023 Game 1: 6-4 Golden Knights win
The Golden Knights and Oilers matchup four times in the regular season, with a postseason matchup in the second round highly likely. On Nov. 24, the Oilers host the Knights, followed by a trip to Las Vegas on Jan. 20. Less than two weeks later, the Oilers welcome the Knights, before a late-season matchup between the teams on April 2.
Colorado AvalancheThe Colorado Avalanche have to be one of the more disappointing teams in the 2020s. Despite featuring Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, two top players at their respective positions, they’ve made the Western Conference just twice in the 2020s.
Yes, one of those trips to the Western Conference was en route to a Stanley Cup victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2022, but the rest of the six seasons have been subpar, to say the least.
In the pandemic-impacted 2020 postseason, they fell to the Stars in seven games in the second round. Then they lost in six to the Golden Knights in the second round of the 2021 postseason. Following their Cup victory in 2022, they were upset by the Seattle Kraken in the first round of the 2023 postseason, before falling to the Stars in both the 2024 and 2025 postseason, the former in the second round and the latter in the first round.
Last season, they finally made it back to the Western Conference Finals after sweeping the Los Angeles Kings and defeating the Minnesota Wild in five, but they were swept by the Golden Knights.
Like the Panthers and Knights, the Avalanche defeated the Oilers en route to their Stanley Cup, sweeping the team in a high-scoring series. In the last seven seasons, the Oilers are 7-4-6 in regular season matchups against the Avalanche. A 7-4-6 record is weird enough, but in the first game the teams played from the 2021-22 season until the 2023-24 season, the Avalanche won 3-2 in overtime.
What are the Oilers’ recent regular season results against Colorado?
2025-26: 9-1 Avalanche win, 4-3 Oilers win, 2-1 Avalanche shootout win
2024-25: 4-1 Oilers win, 4-3 Oilers win, 5-4 Avalanche win
2023-24: 3-2 Avalanche overtime win, 6-2 Oilers win, 5-1 Avalanche win
2022-23: 3-2 Avalanche overtime win, 6-5 Avalanche overtime win, 2-1 Oilers overtime win
2021-22: 3-2 Avalanche overtime win, 2-1 Avalanche shootout win, 6-3 Oilers win
2019-20: 6-2 Oilers win, 4-1 Avalanche win
What are the Oilers’ recent postseason results against Colorado?
2022 Game 4: 6-5 Avalanche overtime win
2022 Game 3: 4-2 Avalanche win
2022 Game 2: 4-0 Avalanche win
2022 Game 1: 8-6 Avalanche win
It’ll be a while before the two Western Conference contenders meet, with the first game coming in Denver on Jan. 26. The Oilers will host the second game on Feb. 17, before the season-series finale in Denver on March 15.
Tampa Bay LightningOf the five most recent Stanley Cup champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning are the lone team the Oilers have never played in the playoffs.
The Daily Faceoff article lists the Dallas Stars as the sixth contender, but that’s due in large part to the Lightning continuing to lose in the first round the last four years, once to both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montréal Canadiens, and twice to the Panthers.
While they’ve lost in the first round in the last four postseasons, they’re still a dangerous team. It doesn’t look like their window of contention doesn’t appear to be shutting any time soon, which is impressive given that they’ve been one of the better teams the last decade and a half.
The Oilers haven’t had great success since the 2019-20 season, going 4-6-1 over their last 11 regular season matchups. Last season, the Lightning swept the season series, taking the home game 2-1 before defeating the Oilers 5-2 in a fight-filled matchup in Alberta. It was the second time the Lightning swept the season series in the last three seasons.
What are the Oilers’ recent regular season results against Tampa Bay?
2025-26: 2-1 Lightning overtime win, 5-2 Lightning win
2024-25: 2-1 Oilers win, 4-1 Lightning win
2023-24: 6-4 Lightning win, 7-4 Lightning win
2022-23: 3-2 Oilers win, 5-3 Oilers win
2021-22: 5-3 Lightning win, 4-1 Oilers win
2019-20: 3-1 Lightning win
The first game between the teams is in Tampa Bay on Nov. 19, two days after the Oilers play the Panthers for the first time. On Jan. 11, the Oilers will host the Lightning in the season series finale.
Cynthia Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for DFOEdmonton, DFOCalgary, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on X at @CynthiaRDelaney.
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