Losing in the first round may not be the worst outcome for the Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers are on the brink of elimination.

After back-to-back Stanley Cup appearances, and three Western Conference Finals in four years, there’s no room for error in their first-round matchup against the Anaheim Ducks. They took an early series lead thanks to Kasperi Kapanen’s late heroics in Game 1, but have lost the last three games to go down 3-1 in the series.

To make matters worse, they haven’t looked good either. Their best period of the series came in Game 1’s first period, holding the Ducks to just four shots while amassing 14 of their own. It also happened to be the closest they’ve looked this season to be an actual Stanley Cup contender.

Simply put, an early exit wouldn’t be the worst-case scenario for the Oilers.

See, the Oilers have played a lot of hockey, especially in the past two years. On top of the 82-game regular season, the Oilers have played an additional 47 games, so a little over two and a half seasons’ worth of games since the start of the 2023-24 season.

Then you pair that with the fact that it looks like their starts aren’t 100 per cent. In Game 2,  captain Connor McDavid rolled his ankle and was hobbled. Leon Draisaitl missed the final 14 games of the season, and Zach Hyman missed games down the stretch. Their centre depth has also been eviscerated.

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