Oilers clinch playoff spot for sixth straight season, but injuries keep mounting
EDMONTON – It took until Game 78 of the regular season for the Edmonton Oilers to punch their ticket to the playoffs, but they're back where they're supposed to be.
Now the most important question: What will the team look like when it gets there?
The Oilers beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 on Friday to qualify for the postseason for the sixth consecutive season. They needed just one point to ensure the rival Calgary Flames couldn't pass them for third in the Pacific Division.
Advertisement
However, already playing without four impactful regulars, including Hart Trophy candidate Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers lost stars Mattias Ekholm and Zach Hyman against the Sharks. Both left the game and didn't return.
The Oilers are limping toward the playoffs, figuratively and literally.
They were third in the NHL by points percentage before a Jan. 30 game against the Detroit Red Wings. Friday's win was just their 14th win in 29 games since. Their 34 regulation wins on the season are good for sixth in the Western Conference.
They are now slated to start a first-round series on the road for the first time with Draisaitl and Connor McDavid on the rosters.
Injuries have made the last few weeks an uphill battle for the Oilers, something that was further exacerbated on Friday with Ekholm's and Hyman's departures.
Ekholm returned to the lineup Friday after sitting out the last seven games, and 13 of the past 17, with a lower-body ailment. That second attempt at a return lasted just three shifts and 1:52 after he got tangled up with the Sharks' Ty Dellandrea in the neutral zone.
Hyman left the game midway through the second period. Those departures left the Oilers with 11 forwards and five defencemen and only added to the lengthy list of sidelined players.
Draisaitl remains out with a lower-body ailment. He's missed the last four games and eight of the past 11 due to injury. Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch expects him back before the playoffs.
Knoblauch said winger Trent Frederic (ankle) might not be available for Game 1 of the playoffs. Frederic, who was acquired March 4 from Boston, was limited to just 7:10 in his Oilers debut Saturday in Los Angeles after suffering a setback.
Evander Kane hasn't played all season, and the status of the 33-year-old winger for the start of the playoffs hasn't been determined.
Advertisement
Jake Walman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins have missed the last two games with an injury and illness, respectively, but both should be back in the lineup before the playoffs. Depth defenceman John Klingberg (foot) was put on LTIR on Wednesday, ruling him out as an option for the rest of the regular season.
At least they got a couple players back this week.
McDavid came back Wednesday after an eight-game absence with a lower-body injury. He recorded three assists in a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues and added another four helpers against the Sharks.
Goalie Stuart Skinner (head) was also medically cleared and backed up Calvin Pickard on Friday after being unavailable for seven contests.
On top of all the problems in recent weeks, there is uncertainty about who will start in net when the Oilers open the playoffs.
Skinner has been out of commission since getting an inadvertent knee in the head from the Dallas Stars' Mikko Rantanen on March 26. Pickard has more impressive numbers and has helped the Oilers weather the storm in Skinner's absence. He stopped 22 shots on Friday.
Skinner is scheduled to start two of the remaining three games, but it's an open competition for who will be tabbed for Game 1.
'We are going to play the goalie that's playing the best and giving us the best opportunity to win that night,' Knoblauch said before Friday's game.
That's a lot of question marks for the defending Western Conference champions and the preseason Stanley Cup favourites.
They've got three games remaining to cobble together a lineup and sort out some key personnel issues before the first round begins.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
an hour ago
- Fox Sports
Edmonton brings 1-0 series lead into game 2 against Florida
Associated Press Florida Panthers (47-31-4, in the Atlantic Division) vs. Edmonton Oilers (48-29-5, in the Pacific Division) Edmonton, Alberta; Friday, 8 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Oilers -132, Panthers +111; over/under is 6.5 STANLEY CUP FINAL: Oilers lead series 1-0 BOTTOM LINE: The Edmonton Oilers host the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final with a 1-0 lead in the series. The teams meet Wednesday for the fourth time this season. The Oilers won the last matchup 4-3 in overtime. Leon Draisaitl scored two goals in the win. Edmonton is 48-29-5 overall and 32-14-3 in home games. The Oilers have allowed 235 goals while scoring 259 for a +24 scoring differential. Florida is 47-31-4 overall and 28-21-3 in road games. The Panthers have a 23-10-0 record when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent. TOP PERFORMERS: Evan Bouchard has 14 goals and 53 assists for the Oilers. Draisaitl has five goals and 10 assists over the past 10 games. Sam Reinhart has 39 goals and 42 assists for the Panthers. Sam Bennett has eight goals and three assists over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Oilers: 8-2-0, averaging 3.8 goals, 6.9 assists, 3.5 penalties and 7.3 penalty minutes while giving up 2.1 goals per game. Panthers: 7-2-1, averaging 3.8 goals, 6.8 assists, 5.6 penalties and 18.7 penalty minutes while giving up 1.6 goals per game. INJURIES: Oilers: None listed. Panthers: None listed. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. recommended
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Edmonton Oilers defeat Florida Panthers in overtime to take Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final
A Canadian team hasn't lifted the Stanley Cup in almost 32 years and now the Edmonton Oilers are one step closer to breaking that drought after defeating the Florida Panthers 4-3 in overtime to take Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday. Leon Draisaitl secured a feed from Connor McDavid and found the back of the net with just over 30 seconds left in the first extra period to send Oilers fans at Rogers Place and the Moss Pit outside the arena into an excited frenzy. Edmonton got off to a fast start with Draisaitl scoring 66 seconds into the game but the defending Cup champ Panthers did not let that keep them down. Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand each scored in a span of two minutes to give Florida the lead. The 28-year-old Bennett added his second goal of the game early in the second period as the Edmonton crowd, once bursting with excitement, was stunned into silence. Despite an Oilers goal just over a minute later, the Panthers found themselves in a familiar spot – holding a lead through the first two periods. Florida, appearing in its third consecutive Cup Final, was 31-0 when holding a lead at the end of the first or second period in the playoffs under head coach Paul Maurice. Edmonton had other plans of handing the 58-year-old Maurice something he hasn't experienced since trading the cold of Winnipeg for the sunny beaches of south Florida three years ago. Defenseman Mattias Ekholm, playing in only his second game back due to injury, tied it with 13:27 remaining in regulation off a perfect pass from McDavid which would eventually force overtime. Both teams traded scoring chances for most of the extra period, but Panthers winger Tomáš Nosek was called for delay of game after putting the puck over the glass with time winding down. With their two best players on the ice for the ensuing power play, McDavid and Draisaitl did what they do best to secure victory for the Oilers. After the game, Draisaitl – despite having a hard time describing the feeling of scoring the game-winner in a Stanley Cup final series – credited his teammates for setting up the scoring chance. 'You are obviously locked in. Especially on the power play, you're looking to finish it,' Draisaitl told reporters. 'Again, some incredible plays that made it pretty easy for me to put that home. It's a special feeling. It's great for right now but we got to look ahead and get read for Game 2.' McDavid, the three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner, called his teammate Draisaitl 'invaluable' to the team. 'Does so many good things,' McDavid said. 'Clutch, face-offs, you name it, he does it. Doesn't get enough respect or credit for his defensive abilities. When he's dug in, theres not many better – maybe nobody better.' Edmonton's Game 1 victory marks a stark contrast from last year's final. The Oilers fell into a dreaded 3-0 series deficit before clawing back to force a Game 7 where they suffered heartbreak. The Oilers are looking to become the first Canadian team to win the Cup since the Montreal Canadians in 1993 while the Panthers can be become the first team to win back-to-back Cups since their in-state rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning, did so in 2020 and 2021. Game 2 is on Friday before the series shifts to Sunrise, Florida for Games 3 and 4 starting on Sunday.
Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Oilers fans find a home in Calgary bars as Edmonton takes another shot at the Cup
CALGARY - About an hour before every Edmonton Oilers game for the next few weeks, Ernie Tsu plans to stroll down the street in Calgary for a cup of sake. Wearing his Oilers jersey, he'll then walk from the restaurant back to join a raucous crowd of Edmonton fans at his bar in the heart of Calgary's Red Mile, the name given to the stretch of 17th Avenue during the Flames' 2004 Stanley Cup run. 'I'm pretty superstitious,' Tsu, owner of Trolley 5 Restaurant and Brewery, said in the lead-up to the Stanley Cup final between the Oilers and the Florida Panthers. Edmonton won Game 1 on Wednesday. 'Since I've been having sake there, they haven't lost (a series).' Trolley 5, a not-so-secret hub for Oilers fans in rival Calgary, has flourished in the team's consecutive runs for the Cup. Two large flags — one for the Oilers, another for Alberta — hang from the rafters of the three-storey bar. Aside from a few framed flaming C jerseys plastered to the wall, it's evident oil country has found a home while the local franchise remains excluded from the playoffs for the third straight year. As the Flames continue to rebuild, the Oilers have provided another springtime boom for Calgary sports bars. The Oilers surged past the Los Angeles Kings, Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars in the first three rounds. Tsu said Calgary's community of Oilers fans has grown organically since he opened the bar nine years ago. He now likens it to a family. Earlier in the week, he took 30 diehard followers out for dim sum as a thank you. This year, he said, more Oilers fans have seemed engaged in light of surging patriotism. 'I'd say there's more people, and I think with the U.S. tariffs, you've got more people supporting a Canadian team,' he said. Not all Calgary bar owners are as thrilled by another successful Oilers run. 'I'm a Matthew Tkachuk-Florida fan for the rest of the season,' said Mike Shupenia, referring to the Panthers' captain and former Flames player. 'I will never be an Oilers fan.' But he'll take the business. The owner and manager of Side Street Pub and Eatery in Calgary's Kensington neighbourhood suspects his restaurant would be just as busy if the Flames were gunning for the Cup. During last year's finals, people were lining up for tables as early as 3 p.m. The Calgary-raised Shupenia is begrudgingly offering service to Oilers faithful this year. A handful of red goal lights around the bar go off every time Edmonton scores. And the bar gives a boxing championship belt decorated in Oilers blue and orange to the winner of a raffle, with five-dollar entries given to a children's food charity. For now, Shupenia is bracing for perhaps the busiest few weeks of the year. But he'll keep his fingers crossed behind the bar for the Panthers to claim their second straight Cup. If not, he said, 'I don't think we'll ever be able to live it down.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025.
