Leon Draisaitl and Jason Dickinson were game-time decisions as the Edmonton Oilers opened the Stanley Cup Playoffs at home against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday in Game 1 of the Western Conference first round. For Edmonton, it was the first time in five seasons it was not facing the Los Angeles Kings in the opening round.
“They have a ton of skill, they score a lot of goals and they're dangerous. It'll be a good series,” Zach Hyman said of Anaheim, which was back in the postseason for the first time since 2018.
Draisaitl has been out since a lower-body injury in a 3-1 win against the Nashville Predators on March 15, missing the final 14 games of the regular season. Dickinson, meanwhile, had not played since blocking a shot in a 5-2 win at the San Jose Sharks on April 8, leaving him out of the last three games. Coach Kris Knoblauch gave no fresh update on Draisaitl and said the club expected him back sometime during the first round, but did not tip its hand on the lineup before puck drop.
That leaves Edmonton waiting on one of its most productive players. Draisaitl finished ninth in NHL scoring with 97 points in 65 games, including 35 goals, 62 assists and 16 power-play goals, while averaging 21:35 of ice time. He had begun skating on his own two weeks before this game and had been practicing with the Oilers since April 13, when they returned from a three-game road trip.
Anaheim arrived with a different kind of momentum. The Ducks finished the regular season with 26 comeback wins, tied with Montreal for the most in the NHL, and Radko Gudas said the group was excited to get a good few playoff games in. Joel Quenneville said the Ducks were never out of games, a trait that helped them survive long enough to make the postseason goal they set at the start of the season. He also said he would like to play with the lead more this year.
The matchup is a sharp turn from Edmonton’s recent spring routine, and it gives Anaheim a first taste of the hockey playoffs after years out of the bracket. For the Oilers, the bigger question is whether Draisaitl is close enough to be more than a game-time decision once the series starts to tighten.
