The Oilers may play the LA Kings in the first round in the playoffs, or it could be the Winnipeg Jets, or it could even be the Seattle Kraken. One way or another we will know who plays the Oilers in the first round by the end of tonight.
I wrote on the last blog but as a quick recap, here is how each scenario can play out:
If the Oilers win tonight and the Golden Knights lose in regulation than the Oilers take first in the Division (and Conference) and will play the Winnipeg Jets in the first round.
If Vegas earns a point in any way tonight than the Oilers will remain second in the Pacific. Currently that means they will play the LA Kings.
If Edmonton loses to the Sharks tonight, Seattle wins against the Golden Knights, and LA loses against the Ducks in regulation than Seattle will move past LA for third in the division and will play the Oilers in the first round.
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It looks like Stuart Skinner will start tonight which tells you everything that needs to be said about how the team feels about tonight's game. It would have been easy and made some sense to have Jack Campbell play tonight and give Skinner the extra bit of rest but this team wants to win the Conference. A win tonight for Skinner also means that he will surpass Grant Fuhr for most wins by a rookie goalie in franchise history. Again, I don't think it can be understated that if not for Stuart Skinner, the Oilers may not even be in a playoff position.
If you're the Oilers, which team do you want to take on the most in the playoffs? For me it has to be the Seattle Kraken, though that does seem like the least likely outcome. The Kraken do have some good forward depth in the lineup but their goaltending is probably the worst among all 16 playoff teams and I don't know if they can bunker down and play the tighter playoff game that we see most teams implement.
The last two games against the Kings have given me more confidence that the Oilers can stand strong against the oppressively stifling neutral zone play that LA utilizes. I still think that series would be an absolute grind and would not be shocked to see it go 7 games.
Finally the Winnipeg Jets are a bit of a Wild Card (duh) for me. The Jets barely made it into the playoffs but are far from a weak team, especially when Hellebuyck is playing to his best which he certainly is right now. Oilers fans will still have some PTSD on being swept by Winnipeg a few years ago when Edmonton was thought to be the heavy favorite. Personally I would love to see the Oilers play against their old rival and deliver a far better performance.
Regardless of who the Oilers play right now it is hard to find a matchup that doesn't favor Edmonton. This team has shown that this year they are far more than just Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. They have an excellent top six group around them with guys like Hyman, Kane, and Nugent Hopkins. There is a strong bottom six with a plethora of different skillsets from playmakers and strong skaters like McLeod, to more physical players like Kostin and Bjugstad, to guys with some finish like Warren Foegele.
No one is saying that the Oilers have a subpar defense anymore and Mattias Ekholm has played a huge part in that narrative. Ekholm's brilliant play at both ends of the ice have helped to make Bouchard better and have helped take responsibility off of Darnell Nurse and Cody Ceci and made that pair all the better for it. Of course as mentioned above, Stuart Skinner is also shown he can be counted on in any situation and against any opponent.
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Don't worry about scoreboard watching games tonight (though I'm sure you still will). Regardless of where the points end up after tonight the Edmonton Oilers have put themselves in an excellent position to stand firm against whomever they will play in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Thanks for reading and enjoy the game!