2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Ducks vs. Oilers Western 1st Round preview

The first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs features 16 teams in eight best-of-7 series, which start Saturday. Today, NHL.com previews the Western Conference First Round between the Anaheim Ducks and the Edmonton Oilers. 

(3P) Anaheim Ducks  vs. (2P) Edmonton Oilers 

Ducks: 43-33-6, 92 points 

Oilers: 41-30-11, 93 points 

Season series: EDM: 2-1-0; ANA: 1-2-0

Game 1: Monday at Edmonton (10 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, KCOP-13, ESPN2, Victory+)

The Edmonton Oilers are looking to return to the Stanley Cup Final for a third consecutive season in an effort to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1990. 

The first step in that journey begins against the Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference First Round. Anaheim is making its first postseason appearance since 2018. 

Edmonton is making its seventh consecutive playoff appearance and has been eliminated in the past four seasons by the team that went on to win the Stanley Cup. 

Along with losing to the Florida Panthers in the Final in 2025 and 2024, the Oilers lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round in 2023 and the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Final in 2022. 

"The expectation is to win the Stanley Cup," Oilers forward Zach Hyman said. "If we lose in the first round or we lose in the Final, we're going to be (upset)."

Edmonton last faced Anaheim in the playoffs in the second round of the 2017 playoffs when it was a young, up-and-coming team similar to what the Ducks are now.

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."

Game breakers

Ducks: Gauthier had a breakout season to lead Anaheim in scoring. Of his 41 goals, seven were game-winning goals, the most on the Ducks. He in his second full NHL season and had 44 points (20 goals, 24 assists) in 82 games as a rookie. Carlsson is also a threat offensively, and continued to improve in his third season after he was selected by Anaheim with the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. On the back end, Jackson LaCombe is quickly developing into an elite defenseman. The 25-year-old had 58 points (10 goals, 48 assists) in 82 games and averaged 24:15 minutes of ice time.

Oilers: McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are two of the best offensive players in the League and combined for 235 points this season. McDavid won his sixth Art Ross Trophy as the scoring champion with 138 points (48 goals, 90 assists) in 82 games. He had at least a point in each of Edmonton's 41 wins this season. Draisaitl had 97 points (35 goals, 62 assists) in 65 games before a lower-body injury forced him to miss the last 14 games of the regular season. Draisaitl is expected back at some point in the first round. The two are effective as linemates or centering their own lines and are the main reason Edmonton's power play was the best in the League (30.6 percent). Draisaitl had 16 power-play goals this season and McDavid had 13.

Goaltending

Ducks: Lukas Dostal is in his second full season as the Ducks No. 1 goalie and was 30-20-4 in 56 games (55 starts) with a 3.10 goals-against average and .888 save percentage. The 25-year-old plays behind a young defense group, which can be an issue at times, but when he plays well, the Ducks usually find enough offense to support him. Dostal also played for Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics starting four of his country's five games. 

Oilers: All the eggs seem to be in Connor Ingram's basket this postseason. The 29-year-old was acquired in a trade with the Utah Mammoth for future considerations Oct. 1. Ingram started the season in Bakersfield of the American Hockey League but worked his way up to be the. No. 1 goalie after Stuart Skinner was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with defenseman Brett Kulak and a second-round pick in the 2029 NHL Draft for goalie Tristan Jarry and forward Samuel Poulin. Ingram is 16-10-3 with a 2.60 GAA and .899 save percentage in 32 games (30 starts). Jarry has struggled with his consistency since arriving in Edmonton, going 9-6-2 in 19 games (16 starts) with 3.86 GAA and .858 save percentage.

Numbers to know

Ducks: Anaheim had 26 comeback wins this season, tied for most with the Montreal Canadiens. The Ducks had 17 one-goal comebacks and nine two-goal comebacks. Anaheim also had 12 third-period comebacks, eight when trailing by one goal (tied for NHL high) and four when trailing by two goals (NHL high). The Ducks were 21-24-4 this season when giving up the first goal, leading the NHL in wins when trailing first, and an impressive 24-6-6 in one-goal games. 

Oilers: McDavid factored in on 48.9 percent of Edmonton's goals this season, which was the highest of any player in the League. He is the third player in NHL history to have at least a point in each of his team's wins, (minimum 25 wins) along with Wayne Gretzky (29 with Edmonton in 1980-81) and Dennis Maruk (26 with the Washington Capitals in 1981-82). McDavid carried the Oilers in the absence of Leon Draisaitl, who was out with a lower-body injury the last 14 games of the regular season. McDavid had 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in those 14 games and was in on 54.5 percent of the Oilers goals.

They said it

"Whoever keeps them out of the net the best is going to be successful. We know that we can't outscore that team and out run them, but (hopefully) we can play more patient against them. We know we have a tall task ahead of us knowing their power play is lethal and they have some special players." -- Ducks coach Joel Quenneville 

"They've got some really high-end skill up front. They've got some big pieces on the back end and they've got goaltending. So they'll be a tough opponent, for sure." -- Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm

Will win if ...

Ducks: They can pressure the Oilers defensemen into turnovers and convert on their scoring opportunities. Anaheim can't afford to play from behind the way they often did in the regular season. The Ducks will also need a great goaltending performance from Dostal to try and slow down the Oilers potent offence. 

Oilers: They play the same tight-checking style utilized so effectively in the past two playoff seasons, and win the special teams battle. Edmonton had the best power play in the League and will be restored to full strength when Draisaitl returns to the lineup at some point in the first round.

How they look

Ducks projected lineup

Chris Kreider -- Leo Carlsson -- Troy Terry

Alex Killorn -- Mikael Granlund -- Beckett Sennecke

Mason McTavish -- Ryan Poehling-- Cutter Gauthier

Jeffrey Viel -- Tim Washe -- Ian Moore

Jackson LaCombe -- Jacob Trouba

Pavel Mintyukov -- John Carlson

Tyson Hinds -- Radko Gudas

Lukas Dostal

Ville Husso

Scratched: Olen Zellweger, Frank Vatrano, Drew Helleson

Injured: Jansen Harkins (hand surgery), Ross Johnston (lower body)

Oilers projected lineup 

Matt Savoie -- Connor McDavid -- Zach Hyman 

Vasily Podkolzin -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Jack Roslovic

Colton Dach -- Josh Samanski -- Trent Frederic 

Curtis Lazar -- Adam Henrique -- Kasperi Kapanen 

Mattias Ekholm -- Evan Bouchard 

Darnell Nurse -- Connor Murphy 

Jake Walman -- Ty Emberson 

Connor Ingram 

Tristan Jarry 

Scratched: Spencer Stastney 

Injured: Leon Draisaitl (lower body), Max Jones (lower body), Jason Dickinson (lower body)