Breaking Down How the Oilers Matched Against the Ducks – Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers

For the first time in five years, the Edmonton Oilers will face a new opponent to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Instead of going up against the LA Kings for the fifth straight year, Connor McDavid and company are preparing to face another Californian team in the Anaheim Ducks.

The two teams have almost identical records this season. The Oilers finished 41-30-11 with 93 points, while the Ducks finished 43-33-6. In terms of their regular seasons, this is a series that seems to have the potential to go either way. Their head-to-head record will suggest the same, as the Oilers have outscored them 2-1 in three games, while outscoring them 16-12.

On offense, the two teams have scored nearly identically this season, with the Oilers finding the back of the net 282 times to the Ducks’ 273. That said, the Oilers gave up the fewest goals, finishing the season with a +13 goal differential. The Ducks weren’t so lucky, as they ended their season with a 15-goal record. Here’s a look at how they compare elsewhere during the 2025-26 campaign.

The Oilers are a Great Offensive Team

Considering the Oilers’ offense this season, it’s important to note that Leon Draisaitl, who had 97 points, missed 17 games. If healthy, their goal differential will almost certainly be better than the +13 they finished with.

Not surprisingly, leading the way for the Oilers offensively was Connor McDavid, who finished the season with an NHL-best 138 points. They also finished Evan Bouchard with 95 points, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with 56, and Zach Hyman with 52 despite playing only 58 games. In other words, this team has few legitimate scoring threats.

The leading scorer this season is Cutter Gauthier with 69 points, which shows how much of a gap there is between these two teams when it comes to high-level skill. That said, the Ducks had five more players finish with 50 or more points in Leo Carlsson, Beckett Sennecke, Jackson Lacombe, Troy Terry, and Chris Kreider. They have a lot of offensive depth, but again, the Oilers elite level points outweigh that depth.

Oilers Are Superior to Ducks Defensively

In terms of defensive play, the Oilers once again outplayed the Ducks. Some may disagree because the Ducks have a lot of young talent on their blueline that continues to improve and should be quality defensemen for years to come.

That said, it’s impossible to argue with the fact that as a team, the Ducks have struggled defensively throughout the 2025-26 season. The 288 goals they allowed this season was the most of any play-off team. That could turn into a real problem considering they are playing a team with two of the league’s best offensive players in McDavid and Draisaitl.

What should not be forgotten, however, is that the Ducks upgraded their blue line in a big way at the trade deadline by acquiring John Carlson from the Washington Capitals. The 36-year-old continues to be a great offensive producer, putting up 60 points in 71 games.

Profitable Ducks on the Net

If the Ducks are going to win this series, they will need Lukas Dostal to be at his best. The 25-year-old is one of the better young goaltenders in the NHL, although his 2025-26 season was a struggle as he posted a 3.10 goals-against average (GAA) combined with an .888 save percentage (SV%) in 56 games.

While Dostal hasn’t been great this season, the Ducks’ defensive struggles in front of him haven’t helped. They will need to clean things up in front of their young netminder to give him a chance to steal the series. Based on what we’ve seen from him so quickly throughout his young career, he’s certainly capable of doing so.

As for the Oilers, they will be going with Connor Ingram. While not an elite starting goaltender, he was solid in his first season in Edmonton, posting a 2.60 GAA and .899 SV% in 32 games. Unlike the Ducks, the Oilers don’t need Ingram to steal games, but just to give them a chance to win. Whether he will or not remains to be seen.

Oilers Win Special Teams War

What could end up being the deciding factor in this series is special teams. It’s no surprise that the Oilers have had the NHL’s strongest shooting percentage this season at 30.6 percent. That could cause the Ducks, who were tied for 26th among all teams in penalty kill, to finish the season at a disappointing 76.4 percent. They will need to be disciplined to try and limit the damage from the Oilers.

The Oilers’ penalty kill isn’t surprising, either. They finished 20th in the league with a penalty kill of just 77.8 percent. In their favor in this series, however, the Ducks’ power play hasn’t had a ton of success this season, finishing at just 18.6 percent. In other words, if penalties are prevalent in this series, they will be heavily favored by the Oilers.

The Oilers’ Experience Should Play a Factor

Over the Oilers appear to have the best roster of the Ducks, with the most experience in the playoffs. That’s not surprising, of course, considering they’ve been to the Stanley Cup Finals the past two years. That said, the Ducks boast Stanley Cup winners in Carlson and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Alex Killorn.

Overall, the Oilers feel like the real favorites in this series, although as is always the case in the playoffs, no team can ever be written off. The Ducks are a small, scattered bunch that should be able to, at the very least, make this series worth tuning in to.