{"id":275384,"date":"2026-04-19T09:15:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T09:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/275384\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T09:15:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T09:15:22","slug":"playoff-preview-edmonton-oilers-vs-anaheim-ducks-in-round-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/275384\/","title":{"rendered":"PLAYOFF PREVIEW: Edmonton Oilers vs. Anaheim Ducks in Round 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Edmonton Oilers<\/a> get their opening-round playoff series underway Monday against the L.A. Ki-<\/p>\n

Sorry. Strike that.<\/p>\n

Force of habit.<\/p>\n

For the first time in five years, the Oilers won\u2019t be facing the Kings in the opening round, but instead the team based a half-hour\u2019s drive east of downtown Los Angeles, where the Anaheim Ducks call home.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s the Oilers who hold home-ice advantage in Round 1, thanks to finishing ahead of Anaheim in second place in the Pacific Division with a 41-30-11 (. 567) record and 93 points.<\/p>\n

The Ducks, meanwhile, ended up with more wins but fewer loser points, finishing third with a 43-33-6 record (. 561) and 92 points.<\/p>\n

HEAD TO HEAD<\/p>\n

The Oilers went 2-1-0 against Anaheim, while the Ducks were 1-2-0.<\/p>\n

The Oilers are looking to return to the Stanley Cup Final for the third year in a row, after having fallen both times to the Florida Panthers, who failed to qualify for these playoffs. Edmonton\u2019s last Stanley Cup came in 1990.<\/p>\n

The Ducks last appeared in the playoffs in a first-round ousting at the hands of the San Jose Sharks in 2018.<\/p>\n

The last playoff meeting between these two clubs saw the Ducks win Game 7 of a second-round series in 2017, before going on to fall in six games to the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference Final.<\/p>\n

FORWARDS<\/p>\n

The offensive head-to-head goes to the Oilers for the simple fact Connor McDavid<\/a> and Leon Draisaitl combined for 235 points this year, with McDavid winning his sixth scoring title on the strength of a 138-point campaign (48 goals, 90 assists over 82 games).<\/p>\n

Draisaitl had 97 points (35 goals, 62 assists in 65 games) before a lower-body injury forced him to miss the final 14 games of the regular season.<\/p>\n

Anaheim was powered into playoffs by a trio of young guns leading the team in scoring. Twenty-two-year-old Cutter Gauthier led the way with 69 points (41 goals, 28 assists in 76 games), while 21-year-old Leo Carlsson followed up with 67 points (29 goals, 38 assists in 70 games), and rookie Beckett Sennecke, 20, added 60 points (23 goals, 37 assists in 82 games).<\/p>\n

DEFENCE<\/p>\n

The high-risk, high-reward style of Edmonton\u2019s Evan Bouchard saw him lead all NHL defencemen this season with 95 points (21 goals, 74 assists in 82 games), to post career highs in goals, assists and points.<\/p>\n

Anaheim blue-liner Jackson LaCombe had 58 points (10 goals, 48 assists in 82 games) while averaging 24:15 minutes of ice time, to finish fourth in team scoring behind the Ducks\u2019 big three young guns.<\/p>\n

GOALTENDING<\/p>\n

Edmonton\u2019s Connor Ingram made his way from the farm-team Bakersfield Condors roster all the way into the starting role for the Oilers this season, in a year that saw Stuart Skinner replaced by Tristan Jarry.<\/p>\n

Ingram is 16-10-3 with a 2.60 GAA and .899 save percentage in 32 games, 30 of which were starts. Jarry, meanwhile, went 9-6-2 in 19 games with the Oilers for a 3.68 goals-against average and .858 save percentage.<\/p>\n

The Oilers have also called up Calvin Pickard from the Condors, who began this year as Skinner\u2019s backup following back-to-back seasons that saw him play a crucial role in helping Edmonton reach the Stanley Cup Finals.<\/p>\n

Lukas Dostal went 30-20-4 in 56 games with a 3.10 goals-against average and .888 save percentage, and also started four games for Czechia at the Winter Olympic Games in February.<\/p>\n

Ingram and Dostal will duke it out after having just one head-to-head matchup in the regular season, which saw Ingram make 31 saves in a 4-2 win at Rogers Place. Dostal made 30 saves in the loss.<\/p>\n

SPECIAL TEAMS<\/p>\n

Edmonton\u2019s power play was second to none this season, cranking at a 30.6 per cent success rate. Draisaitl had 16 power-play goals, while McDavid added 13.<\/p>\n

The Ducks had the 23rd-ranked power play at 18.6 per cent, while their penalty kill of 76.4 per cent was tied for 26th overall, compared to Edmonton\u2019s penalty kill of 77.8 (20th overall).<\/p>\n

Anaheim would do well to stay out of the penalty box in this series.<\/p>\n

COACHING<\/p>\n

Kris Knoblauch has not been without his challenges since taking over behind the Oilers bench on the way to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals appearances. From the outside, his biggest choice seems to be whether or not to put McDavid and Draisaitl together, or on their own lines. That would be a good problem for the Oilers head coach to have right about now. He has also been reunited with assistant Paul Coffey since February, and the Oilers\u2019 play has taken a decided turn at their own blue line since.<\/p>\n

Joel Quenneville is in his first season at the helm of the Ducks after having been reinstated by the NHL along with current Oilers general manager Stan Bowman in July 2024, following a nasty bit of business with the Chicago Blackhawks under their watch, back when they did a heck of a lot of winning together, including a trio of Stanley Cup championships.<\/p>\n

Just don\u2019t expect any sort of back-in-the-NHL reunion to be held between the two.<\/p>\n

INJURIES<\/p>\n

The biggest injury, by far, on either side is a lower-body ailment that kept Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl out of the lineup for the final 14 games of the regular season, but didn\u2019t stop him from finishing in the top 10 in league scoring with 97 points (35 goals, 62 assists) in 65 games. He is expected to be available at some point in this series.<\/p>\n

Zach Hyman also missed five games down the stretch with an undisclosed injury, and returned to the lineup for the regular-season finale.<\/p>\n

Jason Dickinson is a trade-deadline acquisition who was filling the crucial role as third-line centre for the Oilers, but they have been without their most defensive forward for the final three games of the regular season, and the team has provided no real timeline for his possible return.<\/p>\n

Ducks centre Jansen Harkins has missed all of April so far due to hand surgery, and is listed as day-to-day alongside defenceman Radko Gudas, who has a lower-body injury.<\/p>\n

INTANGIBLES<\/p>\n

\u2022 A 7-4 Oilers win over Anaheim at Rogers Place featured a pair of hat-trick performances, one by Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm, for the first of his career, and the other by Ducks forward Mikael Granlund. Their combined age heading into this playoff series is 69 years old.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The Ducks went 21-24-4 after trailing 1-0 this season, leading the NHL in comeback victories, while also ending up and 24-6-6 in games decided by a single goal.<\/p>\n

\u2022 McDavid had 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in these past 14 games without his wingman, Draisaitl, in the lineup.<\/p>\n

SCHEDULE<\/p>\n

Western Conference First Round (best-of-7)<\/p>\n

Game 1: Monday at Edmonton (8 p.m., CBC, SN)<\/p>\n

Game 2: Wednesday at Edmonton (8 p.m., CBC, SN)<\/p>\n

Game 3: Friday at Anaheim (8 p.m., CBC, SN)<\/p>\n

Game 4: Sunday at Ahaneim (7:30 p.m., CBC, SN)<\/p>\n

*Game 5: Tuesday, April 28 (Time TBD)<\/p>\n

*Game 6: Thursday, April 30 (Time TBD)<\/p>\n

*Game 7: Saturday, May 2 (Time TBD)<\/p>\n

*If necessary<\/p>\n

PROJECTED LINEUPS<\/p>\n

Anaheim Ducks<\/p>\n

Chris Kreider \u2014 Leo Carlsson \u2014 Troy Terry<\/p>\n

Alex Killorn \u2014 Mikael Granlund \u2014 Beckett Sennecke<\/p>\n

Mason McTavish \u2014 Ryan Poehling \u2014 Cutter Gauthier<\/p>\n

Jeffrey Viel \u2014 Tim Washe \u2014 Ian Moore<\/p>\n

Jackson LaCombe \u2014 Jacob Trouba<\/p>\n

Pavel Mintyukov \u2014 John Carlson<\/p>\n

Tyson Hinds \u2014 Radko Gudas<\/p>\n

Lukas Dostal<\/p>\n

Ville Husso<\/p>\n

Scratched:\u00a0Olen Zellweger, Frank Vatrano, Drew Helleson<\/p>\n

Injured: Jansen Harkins (hand), Ross Johnston (lower body)<\/p>\n

Edmonton Oilers<\/a><\/p>\n

Matt Savoie \u2014 Connor McDavid<\/a> \u2014 Zach Hyman<\/p>\n

Vasily Podkolzin \u2014 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins \u2014 Jack Roslovic<\/p>\n

Colton Dach \u2014 Josh Samanski \u2014 Trent Frederic<\/p>\n

Curtis Lazar \u2014 Adam Henrique \u2014 Kasperi Kapanen<\/p>\n

Mattias Ekholm \u2014 Evan Bouchard<\/p>\n

Darnell Nurse \u2014 Connor Murphy<\/p>\n

Jake Walman \u2014 Ty Emberson<\/p>\n

Connor Ingram<\/p>\n

Tristan Jarry<\/p>\n

Scratched:\u00a0Spencer Stastney<\/p>\n

Injured:\u00a0Leon Draisaitl (lower body), Max Jones (lower body), Jason Dickinson (lower body)<\/p>\n

G-MAN\u2019S TAKE<\/p>\n

Would it really be going out on a limb to pick the Oilers in four games? The Ducks limped into the playoffs on a 2-6-2 slump immediately following a run of 5-0-1 that had them looking nigh unstoppable.<\/p>\n

In that same span, the Oilers won a season-high five in a row, and hung on to end off 2-2-2 \u2014 all of which was achieved without Draisaitl in the lineup.<\/p>\n

They have the goaltending they were looking for, and took steps in a shift to play more decidedly defensive since the Olympic break.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say the young and ever-evolving Ducks will be pushovers, per se. But their time in the sun lies on the near horizon, and the Oilers would do well to pluck as many victories as they can as quickly as possible before that happens.<\/p>\n

E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n

On X: @StarkRavinMod<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Edmonton Oilers get their opening-round playoff series underway Monday against the L.A. Ki- Sorry. Strike that. Force…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":275385,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[89088,4855,163,824,165,164,1720,78775,2068,1717,107621,11839,18693,119128,90594,1718,90987,6489,6264,2070,70138,2065,17084,90593,2099,10370,90983,16587,11508,37613,47007,47764,89089,6706,1716,37614,5498,1721,62618,76489,3863,823,12753,16534,18469,5429,10371,90828,15954,98,90985,119127,1606,2721,90592,5573,4862,119129,62619,41791,76466],"class_list":{"0":"post-275384","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-anaheim","8":"tag-adam-henrique","9":"tag-alex-killorn","10":"tag-anaheim","11":"tag-anaheim-ducks","12":"tag-anaheim-headlines","13":"tag-anaheim-news","14":"tag-beckett-sennecke","15":"tag-calvin-pickard","16":"tag-chicago-blackhawks","17":"tag-chris-kreider","18":"tag-colton-dach","19":"tag-connor-ingram","20":"tag-connor-mcdavid","21":"tag-connor-murphy","22":"tag-curtis-lazar","23":"tag-cutter-gauthier","24":"tag-darnell-nurse","25":"tag-drew-helleson","26":"tag-ducks","27":"tag-edmonton-oilers","28":"tag-evan-bouchard","29":"tag-florida-panthers","30":"tag-frank-vatrano","31":"tag-jack-roslovic","32":"tag-jackson-lacombe","33":"tag-jacob-trouba","34":"tag-jake-walman","35":"tag-jansen-harkins","36":"tag-jason-dickinson","37":"tag-jeffrey-viel","38":"tag-john-carlson","39":"tag-josh-samanski","40":"tag-kasperi-kapanen","41":"tag-kings","42":"tag-leo-carlsson","43":"tag-leon-draisaitl","44":"tag-lukas-dostal","45":"tag-mason-mctavish","46":"tag-matt-savoie","47":"tag-mattias-ekholm","48":"tag-max-jones","49":"tag-mikael-granlund","50":"tag-nashville-predators","51":"tag-olen-zellweger","52":"tag-pavel-mintyukov","53":"tag-radko-gudas","54":"tag-ross-johnston","55":"tag-ryan-nugent-hopkins","56":"tag-ryan-poehling","57":"tag-san-jose-sharks","58":"tag-spencer-stastney","59":"tag-stuart-skinner","60":"tag-the-ducks","61":"tag-tim-washe","62":"tag-trent-frederic","63":"tag-tristan-jarry","64":"tag-troy-terry","65":"tag-ty-emberson","66":"tag-vasily-podkolzin","67":"tag-ville-husso","68":"tag-zach-hyman"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=275384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275384\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/275385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=275384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=275384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=275384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}