Oilers’ 3 Stars of the Playoffs

On Thursday night, the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 to win their Round 1 series of the Stanley Cup playoffs in six games, eliminating the back-to-back Western Conference champions.

This was a tough season in Oil Country. They struggled throughout the regular season, and they couldn’t find that next gear in the playoffs. The top players had great regular seasons. Connor McDavid led the NHL in scoring with 138 points, and Evan Bouchard led all defencemen with 95.

Unfortunately, the big guns couldn’t continue their dominance in the playoffs – McDavid and Bouchard scored one goal each. They ran out of gas, forcing their depth players to step up, and some of them played great throughout the series. With that said, here are the Oilers’ 3 Stars of their series loss to the Ducks.

Third Star: Leon Draisaitl

Of the team’s three superstars, Leon Draisaitl was the best. He had three goals and 10 points, registering a point in every game of the series, including four multi-point performances. His underlying numbers weren’t great, but at least he contributed on the scoresheet and led the team in points.

When he was on the ice at 5-on-5, the Oilers were outshot 64-62, and the high-danger chances were 16-16. However, they outscored their opponents 8-6. Draisaitl was also 55.24 percent in the faceoff circle, tasked with winning key draws like usual. He’s Edmonton’s most trusted centre, and he had a good series.

Draisaitl was one of the many players dealing with injury and missed the final 14 games of the regular season with a lower-body injury. However, he didn’t miss a beat, and that time off seemed to rejuvenate him. He is known to be a playoff performer and has played through a few gruelling injuries over the years. Despite that, he always gives the Oilers his best. Unfortunately, he could only do so much and carry his team so far. Hopefully, an extended summer will help him rest up for a long playoff run next season.

Second Star: Kasperi Kapanen

The second star is Kasperi Kapanen, who scored some crucial goals during the series, especially in Game 1, when he scored the game-winner with under two minutes remaining. He finished the series as Edmonton’s leading goal scorer with four. He also added two assists, making him a point-per-game player.

Consistency is the only reason he isn’t the first star. He didn’t score in the final two games and had stretches where he wasn’t noticeable. However, when head coach Kris Knoblauch decided to load up McDavid and Draisaitl, Kapanen was elevated to that line. He earned that promotion because he was one of the team’s best players. He’s a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA), so we will see if management re-signs him in the hopes of a longer playoff run next season.

First Star: Vasily Podkolzin

Vasily Podkolzin was fantastic in the playoffs. He has been the most consistent Oiler since he was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks in 2024. If everyone played like Podkolzin, Edmonton would likely have a Stanley Cup.

The Russian winger had three goals and six points with a plus-5 rating in the series. Those three goals matched his entire output through 22 games during last season’s playoff run. On top of averaging a point per game, he also led the team in hits with 32. He was a factor every time he hit the ice and willed his team into battle.

The line of Podkolzin, Kapanen, and Draisaitl was undoubtedly Edmonton’s best line all series. Podkolzin can play on any line and still make a difference. When he was on the ice at 5-on-5, the Oilers outshot Anaheim 59-49 while outscoring the opposition 10-5.

They also had 58.82 percent of the high-danger chances. Individually, he had nine scoring chances and five high-danger scoring chances, according to Natural Stat Trick. Podkolzin was the Oilers’ best player consistently and deserves the first star. Unfortunately, the team didn’t get a better result.

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