The Edmonton Oilers entered their 2026 Stanley Cup Playoff first-round series versus the Anaheim Ducks as clear favourites. Except now, Anaheim is on the verge of eliminating the Oilers heading into Game 5 tonight with a 3-1 lead. With back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals and two of the best centres in the league, there wasn’t much that fans assumed could stop the side. With Connor McDavid ending the regular season with 138 points, the second-best total of his career, the Ducks might as well have been a bump in the road for Edmonton. Now it looks much different. Welcome to our continued coverage of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Last Word On Hockey.
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. May 24, 2025. An Edmonton Oilers flag boldly waves against a cloudy sky, symbolizing team spirit and unwavering fan allegiance to the beloved hockey franchise
Head coach Kris Knoblauch understands what’s at stake on Tuesday, and he didn’t mince his words. “There’s a lot of belief within that room. They’ve been in some pretty poor situations, and this team never quits. They’re resilient,” he said. “They have a lot of fight left, and that’s when we’ve seen the best out of them. But we don’t have room for error anymore.” Here’s what the Oilers have to do to stay alive.
That comes as two of Oilers key forwards are listed as game-time decisions. Yes, one of them is Connor McDavid himself, and the other being Jason Dickinson. The Oilers can ill-afford to be down one key player, let alone two.
Stop Taking the Untimely Penalties
For a team that has absolutely ruled the power play, their penalty kill has been one of the worst in the league. The Oilers have had leads in all four games and, at crucial moments, have made mistakes that changed the game. More often than not, that mistake came in the form of a penalty at the worst possible time. The Ducks’ power play has now scored in eight-consecutive games. Moreover, Anaheim is 6-for-12 with the man advantage in this series.
The Oilers have them beat on the power play, but they can’t let Joel Quenneville‘s men match their output on their own man advantage. The discipline needs to be there. Protecting a lead while taking back-to-back penalties is a recipe for exactly what has happened in this series, with the Ducks quickly scoring goals and leaving Edmonton chasing a lead they can’t catch up to.
Solve the Goaltending Question Tonight
The one struggle that has been plaguing the Oilers since their 2024 Cup run finally needs to be addressed tonight. Edmonton has already lost far too much to weak goaltending. If they wish to stretch the series to Game 6, the question needs to be answered tonight. Knoblauch hadn’t decided yesterday who would get the call.
Tristan Jarry came in for Game 4 and was solid, stopping 34 shots, but the Oilers still surrendered four goals. Connor Ingram posted a .849 save percentage across his three starts. Per MoneyPuck, Ingram allowed the most rebounds per shot faced among any goalie in these playoffs. However, as we learned earlier today, Ingram is going to be starter.
Whoever goes in Game 5 needs to be committed to, not second-guessed after one bad period. The Ducks have made their living on comebacks all season long. They completed their NHL-best 10th multi-goal comeback of the season in Game 4 alone. Giving them life through soft goals or rebound control issues cannot happen in an elimination game.
Edmonton Needs To Unleash McDavid and Draisaitl Together
McDavid has finally got his mojo back. Four points in two games, and his slump for the first two games is way behind him. If he can’t go tonight, it could prove detrimental to his team’s ultimate success.
Leon Draisaitl, meanwhile, has been the sole silver lining for the Oilers this series, scoring seven points. The problem is that the Oilers have yet to capitalize on having two of the best centers on their front.
Knoblauch hinted at a deployment change, saying, “I think maybe using him differently is maybe the matchups or the players that are playing with him. Those are some of the adjustments we have to look at.” That matters. McDavid is dealing with an apparent ankle injury that has clearly affected his mobility. You adjust around that reality, not against it, in the case that he can’t go tonight.
Through four games, the Oilers have scored 12 goals, averaging three a game, with McDavid scoring just two of them. That production has come primarily from depth players and Draisaitl. When those two are clicking together, no defensive structure in this league can fully contain them. The Ducks have done an admirable job scheming against McDavid in isolation.
Containing both him and Draisaitl on the same shift is a different problem entirely. In the McDavid-Draisaitl era, the Oilers are 8-7 in elimination games. McDavid has 23 points in those contests alone. Rogers Place will be deafening on Tuesday night. The moment is as big as it gets. And this is exactly the situation where the two best players in the world tend to remind everyone why they hold that title. Game 5 goes Tuesday from Rogers Place. Puck drop is at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) or 8:00 p.m. Mountain Time.
Connor Ingram starts https://t.co/EZ0nBByX0s
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 28, 2026
Main Photo Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
