The Edmonton Oilers need to repeat history. Again.
The Oilers are looking to kick off yet another series comeback when they continue their Western Conference first-round playoff series on the road against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.
During runs to the Stanley Cup final in each of the past two springs, the Oilers have erased a handful of series deficits. They were down 2-0 to the Los Angeles Kings last year before rallying to win the opening-round series. Edmonton also won series after trailing 2-1 against both the Vancouver Canucks and the Dallas Stars in 2024 and the Kings the year before that ahead of a second-round exit.
Therefore, trailing the Ducks by a 2-1 margin is not uncharted waters for the core group which boasts plenty of playoff experience.
“There’s a lot of hockey left to be played, right?” Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “The momentum shifts, the swings, we’ve all been through it in here. So lean on that, take a deep breath and know that the sun’s going to come up tomorrow. We’ve got a big game coming.”
That said, Edmonton also must start playing better defensively. Anaheim has racked up 13 goals over the past two games, including a 7-4 throttling on Friday.
Run-and-gun hockey may be more entertaining and fun, but the Oilers learned over their past couple of years that it does not lead to success. Plus, the younger Ducks are beating them at that game.
Whether the Oilers make a goaltending change and turn to Tristan Jarry over Connor Ingram remains to be seen, but their struggles are not all on the netminder.
“Any time you let in seven, it’s not a goalie problem,” forward Zach Hyman said. “It’s just defending better. You’re not going to win. We didn’t give ourselves a chance with the amount of goals we gave up.”
The Ducks are flying high in more ways than one.
Not only is the young, up-and-coming team ahead in the series in its first trip to the playoffs since 2018 and igniting the rush among the fans, but the Ducks also are excelling with an exciting brand of hockey.
They have scored six or more goals in consecutive playoff games for the first time in franchise history, and the seven markers last outing is a franchise record for the postseason.
Even more exciting for their long-term future is that the young guns are firing on all cylinders.
Beckett Sennecke and Leo Carlsson scored 42 seconds apart in the third period to break open Friday’s game.
“Hopefully, they turn out to be great players because they’ve shown all the ingredients,” said Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville, who has guided more than a few young players into champions. “They want to be the best they can be on a daily basis, and I think that kind of pushes them and they’re showing that’s their mindset and that’s their objective.”
Anaheim has netted four power-play goals on eight chances in the series. The Ducks may not yet have their defensive game perfected, but it’s worth noting the Oilers failed to register even one shot on goal in the final 11:24 after making it a one-goal game.
And now the Ducks have the extra confidence of knowing they can beat the Oilers.
“I think we got an exciting team,” Sennecke said. “We can score goals, we can defend and we’re dangerous.”
