Edmonton Oilers on verge of playoff spot with outside shot at home-ice advantage
It’s taken longer than expected, but the Edmonton Oilers have a chance to punch their ticket to the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs tonight.
The Oilers, who sit two points shy of the LA Kings for second in the Pacific Division, are set to go head-to-head with the lowly San Jose Sharks this evening. And to secure a playoff spot for the sixth-straight year, they’ll need just a single point.
NHL.com
The Oilers aren’t at risk of being chased down by the Minnesota Wild or St. Louis Blues, who are both in the Central Division. The one team that can still catch them in the Pacific Division is the Calgary Flames, who have 88 points with four games remaining.
The Flames’ chances of catching the Oilers are very slim, of course. They would not only need to win their final four games, but also have the Oilers drop their remaining four in regulation.
As for the Oilers, getting two points tonight is crucial as they still remain in the hunt to have home-ice advantage for what will be a fourth-straight opening round series versus the Kings. For quite some time this season, it looked as though the Oilers would be Pacific Division champions, but a ravage of injuries since the 4 Nations Face-Off break has taken them out of the running.
The good news for the Oilers is that they are starting to get healthy. Connor McDavid was able to return to the lineup on Wednesday following an eight-game absence, and it sounds as though Leon Draisaitl, Mattias Ekholm, and Jake Walman could all return this evening.
Despite how frustrating these injuries have been, fans should feel quite confident that this team will be much more healthy when the playoffs roll around in just over a week.
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