EDMONTON — The Edmonton Oilers will finish their regular season tonight with one goal in mind: Beat the visiting Vancouver Canucks and avoid a first-round playoff clash with one of the Central Division heavyweights.
The Oilers (40-30-11), who made it to the last two Stanley Cup finals before losing each time to the Florida Panthers, can finish second in the “pillow fight” Pacific Division behind the Vegas Golden Knights with a win tonight over the last-place Canucks, who have reeled off three straight wins.
A loss to the Canucks and the Oilers, with 91 points, have to worry about the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings, both one point back. The Ducks play the Predators in Nashville tonight, while the Kings visit the Flames.
Central Division powerhouse Colorado Avalanche (119 points) will face the West’s No. 2 wild-card team, currently the Kings heading into tonight’s action.
Injuries to star forwards Leon Draisaitl (97 points, still out) and Zach Hyman (51 points, back playing) have made the journey to Game 82 of the regular season much more difficult for the Oilers, who can point to the injury-decimated demise of the back-to-back champion Panthers who failed to make the playoff cut this season.
Perhaps some added motivation for the Oilers tonight: Captain Connor McDavid enters the game with a league-leading 134 points, and is only two goals shy of 50. And defenceman Evan Bouchard, with 92 points, is tied for assists with Boston’s David Pastrnak at 71 and one back of Montreal’s Nick Suzuki.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2026.
The Canadian Press
