{"id":613806,"date":"2026-04-19T05:06:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T05:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/613806\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T05:06:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T05:06:34","slug":"fast-ducks-meet-seasoned-oilers-in-playoff-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/613806\/","title":{"rendered":"Fast Ducks meet seasoned Oilers in playoff opener"},"content":{"rendered":"

EDMONTON \u2013 When the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks open their first-round NHL playoff series Monday, it will be a complete reversal from 2017, the last time the teams met in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

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Back then, the Ducks used their veteran lineup to subdue the young, mostly inexperienced Oilers 4-3 in a second-round series. Now the roles are flipped with a veteran, playoff-hardened Edmonton team facing a young, run-and-gun Ducks squad.<\/p>\n

The Ducks\u2019 top four scorers \u2014 forwards Cutter Gauthier, Leo Carlsson and Beckett Sennecke, and defenceman Jackson LaCombe \u2014 average 21 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have a lot of young talent over there that has led the way through the regular season, so it will be a focus of ours to be hard on them, not give them anything easy,\u201d Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said of the young Ducks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know in general they want to play a fast game, play on the run and on the go,\u201d he said after Friday\u2019s practice, which saw backup goaltender Cal Picard return. \u201cThat\u2019s not how we want to play. We want to play tight defensively and make things really difficult for them and wait for our chances.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Oilers finished second in the Pacific Division, two points back of Vegas, after a 6-2-2 run to close the regular season. The Ducks were third but went 2-6-2 over their final 10 games.<\/p>\n

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The Oilers, Stanley Cup finalists the last two years, head into the series feeling confident after having found their defensive game in the last few weeks of the regular season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe push we had the last month or so, we\u2019ve played a lot better,\u201d veteran defenceman Mattias Ekholm. \u201cWe had some big guys go down, and guys come in and fill those spots. The guys in here feel as good as they have all year, going into the playoffs, which absolutely can help our group.\u201d<\/p>\n

What could also help the Oilers would be the return of forward Leon Draisaitl. He\u2019s been out since March 15, but for the past several days has been skating with the team and spending upwards of 90 minutes on the ice.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe looks good on the ice,\u201d head coach Kris Knoblauch said of Draisaitl. \u201cHe\u2019s pushing himself in the gym and on the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Knoblauch was not prepared to commit to whether the big German forward would be ready for Monday night\u2019s series opener. Whenever he does return, it will give the Oilers two high-powered offensive lines and two solid defensive units that have also been contributing to scoring recently.<\/p>\n

Their much-improved defensive play in the final weeks of the season has the Oilers confident they\u2019ll find ways to handle the spirited Ducks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve got some really high-end skill up front,\u201d Ekholm said of the Ducks. \u201cOn the back end, they\u2019ve got great goaltending; they\u2019ll be a tough opponent for sure. But we\u2019re starting at home, and hopefully we can take advantage of that. It\u2019s going to be hard all the way through.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Expectations are high in Edmonton, with players confident they can compete with anybody. But as Knoblauch cautioned, a lot has to go right \u2014 solid goaltending, good health, continued defensive play \u2014 and even then, winning often comes down to the right bounces.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of belief in here,\u201d captain Connor McDavid, the NHL scoring leader for a sixth time, said. \u201cIt takes skill to win in the playoffs, and we feel pretty good about having that skill, having been there and won a lot of playoff games.\u201d<\/p>\n

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TALE OF THE TAPE:<\/p>\n

Regular-season series: 2-1 Edmonton<\/p>\n

Goals for per game: Edmonton, 3.44 (6th); Anaheim, 3.23 (13th)<\/p>\n

Top scorer: Edmonton, Connor McDavid, 138; Anaheim, Cutter Gauthier, 69<\/p>\n

Starting goaltenders: Edmonton, Connor Ingram, 16-10-3, 2.60 GAA, .899 save percentage; Anaheim, Lukas Dostal, 30-20-4, 3.10, .888.<\/p>\n

Power play: Edmonton, 30.6 (1st); Anaheim, 18.6(23rd)<\/p>\n

Penalty kill: Edmonton, 77.8 (20th); Anaheim 76.4 (27th)<\/p>\n

The big stat: McDavid and Draisaitl scored a combined 29 power-play goals; Cutter Gauthier and Chris Kreider totalled 19 for the Ducks.<\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 18, 2026.<\/p>\n

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