Oilers to meet Ducks in Round 1 of playoffs

After previously clinching their spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Edmonton Oilers finally know who their first-round opponent will be— the Anaheim Ducks.

With their comfortable victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night, the Oilers clinched the second-place spot in the Pacific Division, giving them home ice advantage in their first series. When the Ducks earned a point by defeating the Nashville Predators, they clinched the third seed.

The Oilers have now made the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the past seven seasons. Edmonton is looking to break through for the first Stanley Cup win of the Connor McDavid era after falling short against the Florida Panthers in both of the last two Stanley Cup Finals.

It wasn’t always pretty in Edmonton this season, as the group has overcome the absence of Leon Draisaitl to avoid falling out of the picture down the stretch. The team tightened up defensively late, and Connor McDavid put up 35 points in 22 games since the beginning of March.

Anaheim, on the other hand, got off to a hot start and was able to maintain it for most of the season before falling on tougher times as of late. The Ducks did enough in the season’s final week and a half to regain positioning, but there was a time when the Ducks’ spot was very much in question.

Anaheim has been guided by breakout seasons from center Leo Carlsson and winger Cutter Gauthier, who put home his 41st goal of the season on Thursday night.

This is the first time that these two franchises have met in the postseason since 2017, when the Ducks earned a seven-game series win in one of the more thrilling series of the 2010s.

The full schedule for the first round of the playoffs is expected to be released Thursday night following the completion of the regular season.