SERIES SCHEDULE(Best-of-seven, all times PT)
Game 1, Monday, Rogers Place (Edmonton), 7 p.m.Game 2, Wednesday, Rogers Place (Edmonton), 7 p.m.Game 3, Friday, Honda Center, 7 p.m.Game 4, Sunday, April 26, Honda Center, 6:30 p.m.*Game 5: Tuesday, April 28, Rogers Place (Edmonton), TBD*Game 6: Thursday, April 30, Honda Center, TBD*Game 7: Saturday, May 2, Rogers Place (Edmonton), TBD* if necessary
HEAD-TO-HEADThe Oilers won the regular-season series, 2-1-0
Jan. 26 : Oilers 7, Ducks 4 at Rogers Place
Feb. 25: Ducks 6, Oilers 5 at Honda Center
March 28: Oilers 4, Ducks 2 at Rogers Place
TALE OF THE TAPEOilers (regular-season rank) … category … Ducks (regular-season rank)
41-30-11, 93 points … Season record … 43-33-6, 92 points
3.44 (6th) … Goals per game … 3.23 (13th)
3.23 (25th) … Goals-against per game … 3.51 (29th)
30.6% (1st) … Power-play Pct. … 18.6% (23rd)
77.8% (20th) … Penalty-kill Pct. … 74.6% (T-26th)
+13 (14th) … Goal Differential … -15 (19th)
87.9% (28th) … Save Pct. … 87.6%( 30th)
52.6% (T-5th) … Faceoff Pct. … 48.0% (25th)
FORWARDS
During the Greg Cronin era, the Ducks didn’t have a dozen legit NHL forwards, but in new coach Joel Quenneville’s first season GM Pat Verbeek remedied that with the acquisitions of veterans Mikael Granlund, Chris Kreider and Ryan Poehling, as well as the promotions of rookies Beckett Sennecke and Tim Washe. An infusion of talent up front along with the maturation of Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier into solidified stars allowed the Ducks to out-score their defensive issues frequently, improve their power play somewhat and dominate in shootouts.
Yet the Oilers are perhaps the NHL’s toughest target in terms of their attack. They boast arguably the two best players in the world, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, though the latter will soon be playing his first game since mid-March. They combined for 235 points, with McDavid pouring in 138 of those to win the Art Ross Trophy. Former 50-goal guy Zach Hyman had 31 markers in 58 games this year, now back in the lineup. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, rookie standout Matt Savoie and bargain pickup Jack Roslovic gave the Oilers secondary scoring to spare. EDGE: OILERS
DEFENSEMENThe Ducks possess diverse elements and strong individual components in their defense corps, but the whole has been less than the sum of its parts more often than not. Jackson LaCombe is a bona fide No. 1 D-man now, with a contract extension to match, while John Carlson’s arrival at the trade deadline gave the Ducks another prominent defender. In 17 campaigns, Carlson has played 15 in postseasons, winning the Cup with Washington in 2018. He and LaCombe gave the Ducks two 50-plus-point rearguards, something only one other team had (the Minnesota Wild). Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas brought the sandpaper, but were not all that impactful down the stretch.
The Oilers’ blue line also has a mix of exclamation points and question marks. In Evan Bouchard’s case, those punctuations can often appear in the same sentence. He led all defensemen in scoring this season with 95 points, but has remained prone to unforced and untimely errors that seem to end up in the Edmonton net at a disproportionate rate. Mattias Ekholm has continued to be Edmonton’s most well-rounded defenseman while Jake Walman has been a welcome addition. The absence of Brett Kulak has been felt negatively, as has the continued presence of Darnell Nurse at times. EDGE: EVEN
GOALIESFrom his triumph on home soil at the World Championships to the end of last season, Lukáš Dostál had a storybook 12 months during which he became a Czech hero and an established NHL starter. This season has been less of a fairy tale, featuring some tough stretches, a so-so showing in the Olympics and far fewer goals saved above expected. He still showed glimpses of his very best, most notably stealing a game from the NHL-inundating Colorado Avalanche in Denver.
The Oilers’ goaltending situation has become one of the most volatile and widely scrutinized in recent memory. Their two Stanley Cup Final runs saw them switch between Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard. Then they dealt Skinner for an even less reliable goalie who was on waivers last season, and at a cost, when they picked up Tristan Jarry. He was supplanted by Connor Ingram and the carousel has spun to the point of nauseating Edmontonians, who can’t help but think a solid No. 1 option would have delivered them their Cup since 1990 by now. EDGE: DUCKS
SPECIAL TEAMSThe Ducks not only spent on acquisitions and development on the player-personnel side, but on their coaching staff. Quenneville and incumbent eye in the sky Tim Army were joined by former Oilers bench boss Jay Woodcroft, who led the Oilers on two playoff runs, as well as PK guru Ryan McGill and Andrew Brewer. Once again, the components sounded better in theory than they fared on the ice, with the Ducks finishing in the mid-20s among 32 teams in both categories.
The Oilers’ penalty kill had its issues –– virtually any team with weak goaltending does –– but their power play remained as lethal as a black mamba. They set a record for power-play conversion rate in 2022-23 and have turned in three of the six most efficient seasons in league history since 2019-20, including this year, when their 30.6% clip was the fifth best ever recorded. EDGE: OILERS
COACHES
While Joel Quenneville has been more of a vibes coach than a systems master and just spent four seasons outside the NHL after being barred from seeking employment by the league, his body of work cannot be overlooked. He was on the Colorado Avalanche staff in 1996 when they won the Stanley Cup and then was the driving force behind the Chicago Blackhawks dynasty that quaffed deeply from the Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015. His first year behind the Ducks’ bench was a mixed bag, but his postseason success was the main reason owners Henry and Susan Samueli were eager to open their checkbooks.
Edmonton’s Kris Knoblauch, McDavid’s former junior coach, has accumulated playoff seasoning in a hurry himself. After he replaced Woodcroft, Edmonton ascended sharply, going to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in Year 1 and to Game 6 in Year 2, losing to the Florida Panthers both times. His eerily calm demeanor has kept the Oilers level through two tumultuous runs. EDGE: DUCKS
SERIES PREDICTIONThe Ducks sputtered down the home stretch, lacking urgency and eschewing seeding as motivation. The five-game absence of Gauthier didn’t help matters, but he’s back in the mix and it’s very likely that at some point early in the series they will have their full array of skaters available. Availability and effectiveness are not always one in the same, however, and the Ducks will have to bring their game up multiple levels in a hurry.
Conversely, the Oilers had a businesslike finish to their campaign despite adverse circumstances, specifically the absences of Draisaitl and Hyman. Where many of the Ducks will be playing in their first playoff series, the Oilers are loaded with players who’ve played eight series in the past two springs alone. PREDICTION: OILERS IN 6