With the Edmonton Oilers now officially locked into their seventh consecutive postseason, the team can now look towards the playoffs and start preparing for any possible matchup.
While their 1-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday does deflate the team's momentum, the Oilers are nonetheless in position to go on a deep playoff run. Not only are they one point back of the Vegas Golden Knights for the Pacific Division lead, but they still hold a healthy-ish three-point advantage on the Kings for the final top-three spot in the division.
As a result of their seeding and the out-of-town scoreboard, there are five teams that the Oilers can play in the first round: the Golden Knights, the Anaheim Ducks, the Kings, the Utah Mammoth, and the Colorado Avalanche. As of this writing, there is a 48% chance that the Ducks play the Oilers in the first round. The Mammoth have the second-best odds of matching up with the Oilers at 19%, while a rematch of last year's second-round series with the Golden Knights has a 15% chance of happening. The odds of the Oilers playing the Avalanche now sit at 12%, while yet another Oilers-Kings first-round series has a 7% chance of taking place.
Here is a breakdown of each of the five scenarios that Edmonton could run into in the first round of the playoffs.
Serving as the Anaheim Ducks' first playoff opponent since 2018
If the Ducks were to be the Oilers' first-round opponent, it's safe to say that the experience battle would greatly favor Edmonton.
While the Ducks have veterans like former New York Ranger Chris Kreider and ex-Washington Capital John Carlson, they have the 13th-youngest roster in the NHL. In addition, players like Cutter Gauthier and Leo Carlsson are still in their first few seasons since being drafted, making this the first opportunity that they will have to play NHL postseason hockey.
Considering that Anaheim was only recently at risk of losing their hold on a top-three spot in the Pacific Division, it's still going to take some time for the Ducks' young stars to learn the ways of springtime hockey. As a result, it's reasonable for one to say that the Ducks' postseason performance will hinge on the ability of the team's veterans to step up and make a difference in the biggest of moments.
While the Ducks could win a game or two, the Oilers should be able to win a series against the Ducks regardless who has home ice advantage.
Another first-round rematch with the Los Angeles Kings
The "D.J Smith Redemption Tour" has earned the Kings a 10-5-5 record since removing Jim Hiller from his role as head coach. Since that point, the Kings have surged right back into the playoff picture and within range of their fifth-consecutive postseason berth.
We all know about how the Oilers have won each of the four playoff matchups to occur between the two teams, essentially turning the Kings into the Buffalo Bills of the NHL. But like the Oilers, the Kings are set to enter the postseason with some strong form. Not only have the Kings won six of their last ten games, but their final three games are all against the Pacific Division's bottom three teams, all of whom have been eliminated from playoff contention.
That said, the Oilers have been the Kings' bogeyman for several years now, and any postseason encounter between the two teams is one that could either be very close or decidedly one-sided. Considering Edmonton's four straight postseason victories over Los Angeles, winning the first two games could be all that is required for the Oilers to put the Kings at arms length.
An encounter with John Tortorella's Vegas Golden Knights
A potential first-round matchup with the Golden Knights comes with its benefits and its drawbacks.
On one hand, the Oilers have won 11 of their 16 head-to-head matchups with Vegas following their encounter in the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which the Golden Knights won in six games.
On the other hand, the Golden Knights have been on a roll since hiring John Tortorella as their new head coach; the Golden Knights are 5-0-1 in the six games following the coaching change. While three of the five wins came against the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames, the Golden Knights beat the Oilers last Saturday at Rogers Arena. They also just beat the Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche in overtime, securing their own postseason berth as a result.
If you had asked me two weeks ago what the outcome of a potential Vegas-Edmonton first/second-round matchup would be, my answer would have been Oilers in five. The 2025-26 Golden Knights are a very talented team, and that alone could steal them a game or two. But their pre-Tortorella performance was not great; not only did they lose six of the seven games leading up to the coaching change, but there was a point in that run in which missing the playoffs was a real possibility.
Now? We're talking about a far closer matchup. While there is a good chance that the return of Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman does enough to get Edmonton through a series against Vegas, the Golden Knights are now more than capable of holding their own against the Oilers.
Being mired in a first-round battle with the Utah Mammoth
A matchup between the Oilers and the Mammoth worries me. It should probably worry fans of any team that gets the liberty of being their first-ever playoff opponent (Arizona Coyotes history not included).
Not only have they been locked into the top wild card for the better part of the post-Olympics stretch of hockey, but they have a very solid roster that can make life miserable for opponents. Clayton Keller and Dylan Guenther are at the forefront of the team's youth movement, while veterans like Alex Kerfoot and Mikhail Sergachev - the former of which won two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning - have also been pulling their weight offensively. In fact, Sergachev currently sports an eight-game point streak, one that has seen him record a total of 12 points (all assists).
It's also worth taking the time to commend the efforts of owner Ryan Smith in not only giving Salt Lake City a team that they can root for, but also in turning Utah's capital into a passionate hockey market. That could very well play a role in Utah's ability to make this a series, particularly if it becomes a question of home ice advantage.
The nightmare situation: a run-in with the Colorado Avalanche
While the Ducks and Kings would likely have to win out to even make this scenario a possibility, there is nonetheless a chance that the Oilers slip up and fall into the second wild card. That would condemn them to not just a first-round series with the Avalanche, but a playoff path that takes them through the Central Division. There's even a chance that the Avalanche send the Oilers into that spot themselves; the two teams are set to play each other on Monday at 9:30 PM EST.
The Oilers split their first two games with the Avs, but the loss was by a 9-1 scoreline. As a result, if there was even a chance the Oilers and Avalanche meet in the first round, Monday's matchup could easily serve as a preview of what to expect.
That said, the Oilers likely wouldn't get swept by the Avs. Not only is this Oilers roster far better than the one that got swept by the Avalanche in the 2022 Western Conference Final, but it arguably would present the toughest first-round challenge possible to the Presidents' Trophy winners. This would be a series that goes at least six games, but it might take a herculean effort for the Oilers to win it. Though we have seen such efforts from the Oilers before.