The Edmonton Oilers have barely gotten through the opening stretch of the season, and already the board is crowded with storylines. Through just three games, they’ve piled up 27 goals in the first two, dealt with a goaltending crisis, watched Evan Bouchard post a five-point night in the opener and Connor McDavid do the same in the next game, and found an unexpected contributor in Owen Michaels. On top of that, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman and Jason Dickinson have all gone down with injuries, while Mike Babcock used only one game before labeling Edmonton’s defensive awareness “ridiculous.”
Now comes a road trip that starts with a familiar edge. The Oilers meet the Anaheim Ducks tonight in the first game between the teams since Anaheim knocked Edmonton out in a six-game playoff series last spring, and the tension from that matchup is still very much alive.
This is Edmonton’s first chance to face the Ducks since that first-round exit, and there’s no reason to pretend the bad blood isn’t there. The Oilers were worn down and vulnerable by the time the playoffs rolled around, and that made them easy to catch. But the playoff series left its mark, and the players aren’t hiding it.
“We kind of hate each other after the playoffs, that’s why we’re so excited to play against them,” said Oilers winger Vasily Podkolzin, who had three goals and three assists in the series loss. “They’re competitive guys, I like to play against them.”
Even with so many regulars missing, this game won’t tell the full story of where these two teams stand. There’s plenty of season left before anything like a postseason rematch could happen. Still, the Oilers see value in making their presence felt right away.
“It’s exciting,” said McDavid. “They’re a good, young team. We saw that firsthand last year.”
And the trip doesn’t get any calmer after Anaheim. Edmonton will face Darnell Nurse for the first time in Game 2 of the trip before heading to Los Angeles to take on another playoff opponent, the Kings, in Game 3.