Anaheim won that series in seven games and went on to lose to the Nashville Predators in the conference final in six games. The following season, the Ducks were swept in the first round by the San Jose Sharks and they haven’t played a postseason game since. 

Anaheim missed the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons and qualified this season with a young, revamped roster bolstered by a handful of veterans. 

“They’re a very skilled young team that plays with a lot of energy and creates a lot,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. “They’re really dangerous. We’re going to have our hands full and it’s our job to slow them down a little bit.”

There are a lot of similarities between the Ducks this season and the 2017 Oilers, who at the time, qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 10 seasons. 

Edmonton lost to an experienced, veteran-laden team in Anaheim in 2017, led by forwards Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.

“You can see the parallels,” Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said. “But we’re both different teams now.” 

Anaheim was led offensively this season by 22-year-old forward Cutter Gauthier, who had 69 points (41 goals, 28 assists) in 76 games. Leo Carlsson, 21, had 67 points (29 goals, 38 assists) in 70 games and rookie forward Beckett Sennecke, 20, had 60 points (23 goals, 37 assists) in 82 games. 

“This is all new for me, I’m just excited and I’m excited for our fan base,” Ducks forward Troy Terry, the longest-tenured player on the team at nine seasons, said. “I’m excited for a lot of people in this organization and just around Orange County. Obviously they (Oilers) have two of the best players in the world. They create their own challenges and I’m excited, I think it’ll be a good series.”