Edmonton Oilers play Anaheim Ducks in playoffs and here's when the series starts
The Edmonton Oilers have successfully avoided the LA Kings in the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but they won’t be going far.
Edmonton will be heading just a little south of L.A. to face the Anaheim Ducks in the opening round of the playoffs. It will be the first time these two teams have met in the postseason since the Ducks eliminated Edmonton in seven games during the second round of the 2017 playoffs.
Game 1 of the Oilers-Ducks series will take place on Monday night at Rogers Place, as Edmonton has home-ice advantage.
The @EdmontonOilers and @AnaheimDucks will continue their divisional rivalry into the 2026 #StanleyCup Playoffs with their third all-time postseason meeting.
The #StanleyCup Playoffs begin April 18 (@ESPN, @NHL_On_TNT, @Sportsnet, @TVASports). #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/QJRBvghKLY
— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) April 17, 2026
Along with confirming the matchup, the NHL also released the full first-round schedule as well. The Oilers-Ducks series will play out as follows:
Game 1: Ducks at Oilers, Monday, April 20, 8 p.m. MDT
Game 2: Ducks at Oilers, Wednesday, April 22, 8 p.m. MDT
Game 3: Oilers at Ducks, Friday, April 24, 8 p.m. MDT
Game 4: Oilers at Ducks, Sunday, April 26, 7:30 p.m. MDT
Game 5: Ducks at Oilers, Tuesday, April 28, TBD (if necessary)
Game 6: Oilers at Ducks, Thursday, April 30, TBD (if necessary)
Game 7: Ducks at Oilers, Saturday, May 2, TBD (if necessary)
This series will also break a four-year streak of the Oilers playing the Kings in the first round. Instead, L.A. will line up against the President’s Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche.
Back in 2017, it was the Oilers who were the upstart, young team breaking into the playoffs for the first time after an extended break, while the Ducks featured a playoff-veteran squad. The tables will be turned this time around, as this will be Edmonton’s seventh-straight season in the playoffs and the first for Anaheim since that 2017 appearance.
The two teams met three times this season, with the Oilers winning two of those matchups. Edmonton took home a 4-2 victory in their most recent meeting back in March. The only Oilers loss to the Anaheim was a 6-5 barnburner back in February that saw the Ducks score the winner in the final minutes.
Edmonton will be led by superstars Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard, while Connor Ingram enters the postseason as the team’s starting goaltender. The Ducks, on the other hand, will look for big playoff debuts from young stars like Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, and Beckette Sennecke, while Lukas Dostal will get the nod between the pipes.
Oilers fans have been clamouring for a new look in the first round, and they are finally getting it. We’ll see if they live to regret it or if the team can get back to the second round for the fifth straight season.