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Oilers face familiar playoff deficit against youthful Ducks

18 0
25.04.2026

ANAHEIM — The fast, young Anaheim Ducks are giving the playoff-tested Oilers fits.

Anaheim leads the NHL playoffs with an average of 5.33 goals per game, and the “track meet” hockey they play is making Edmonton look like Donovan Bailey in the 2028 Olympic Final.

Out East, the Canadiens are giving the veteran Lightning all they can handle, leading a series that has seen every game go to OT. In Philly, Pittsburgh’s aging stars are being pushed aside by the Flyers’ rebuild, while the young speed in Utah — a team playing only its second playoff round in 13 springs — might already be too much for the old dogs in Vegas to handle.

The rebuilds aren’t exactly waiting their turn in the NHL, respectfully pausing for the incumbents to step aside.

We’ll focus on the Oilers: A, because we’re in Anaheim; and B, because of all those series, the two-time Cup finalists were not seen as a team that was vulnerable to upset.

But Anaheim, we would venture, is the poster child for what a rebuild can is supposed to be. They’re big, fast and skilled, with a franchise goalie in Lukas Dostal, a future No. 1 defenceman in Jackson Lacombe, a No. 1 centre in Leo Carlsson, and excellent support players in Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Sennecke and about six other guys who any GM in the NHL would snap up in a hurry.

And Edmonton? Their competitive arc will end one day, sure.

But now? Against a........

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