If the regular season means anything, the first-round National Hockey League playoff series between the Edmonton Oilers and the Anaheim Ducks will be a close one. Taking empty-net goals out of the equation, and each of the three games the Pacific Division rivals played this regular season were decided by one goal. The Oilers did win two of them, however, and lost their February game against the Ducks in southern California due to defensive lapses, which Edmonton has been addressing over the last month or so of play before Monday’s series opener at Rogers Place. Here’s how that trio of games played out between the two sides. March 28: Ducks 2 @ Oilers 4 Connor McDavid scored once and added two assists to pace Edmonton to their third victory in a row in the midst of a five-game winning streak, their longest of the regular season. Zach Hyman notched a goal and an assist in the win, Evan Bouchard got two assists and goalie Connor Ingram made 29 saves in the win. The victory ran the Oilers’ record at home versus Pacific Division opponents to 8-0-2 at the time. They ultimately ended the campaign with a 10-1-2 mark against Pacific rivals. The win also put Edmonton three points behind then-division leader Anaheim in the standings. They eventually overtook them six days later before the Vegas Golden Knights climbed their way to the Pacific crown on Tuesday. The Ducks’ loss on March 28 ended a four-game win streak and started a six-game losing skid (0-5-1) that saw them drop out of first for good. Feb. 25: Oilers 5 @ Ducks 6 Anaheim twice erased two-goal deficits before Cutter Gauthier scored with less than two minutes to play to lift the home team to victory over Edmonton. Leon Carlsson led the way for the Ducks in his return to the lineup after missing 11 games, scoring a goal and two assists. For the Oilers, Matt Savoie also recorded a goal and two assists while Connor McDavid added two helpers. Tristan Jarry was pulled from the Oilers’ net early in the third period after giving up five goals on 25 shots in favour of Connor Ingram. The mid-week game was the first one for both teams following the NHL’s three-week Winter Olympics break. The victory put the Ducks one point ahead of the Oilers for second in the Pacific Division standings, five behind the division-leading Golden Knights. The Oilers responded the following night with an 8-1 rout of the Los Angeles Kings before concluding a three-game California road trip with a loss to the San Jose Sharks two nights later. Jan. 26: Ducks 4 @ Oilers 7 Veteran defenceman Mattias Ekholm scored his first career hat-trick as the Oilers ended the visiting Ducks’ seven-game win streak. Tristan Jarry stopped 37 of 41 shots in the win, while Leon Draisaitl picked up four assists. Ducks forward Mikael Granlund also scored a hat-trick, while goalie Ville Husso stopped 25 of 30 shots. Edmonton padded their lead with two empty-net goals, including Ekholm’s third with 11 seconds left in the game. The win kept the Oilers in second place in the Pacific Division, three points ahead of the third-place Ducks.
