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<\/p>\nIf we were going for a more clickbait-y title, this one would have been \u201cGame 82 is the most important game of the season for the Vancouver Canucks.\u201d<\/p>\n
But, here\u2019s the thing\u2026it kind of is. Just not for the Canucks themselves.<\/p>\n
Heading into Thursday night, the Oilers sit second in the Pacific Division with 91 points. First in the division is out of reach for them after Vegas\u2019 victory on Wednesday brought them to 95 points.<\/p>\n
But both the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings head into Thursday night\u2019s action with 90 points each. Either of them, or both of them, could pass the Oilers by the end of the night.<\/p>\n
In order for that to happen, the Oilers would need to lose (to the Canucks) in regulation, and Anaheim and\/or Los Angeles would need to win their games in any fashion. As Edmonton holds the tiebreaker against both teams, it\u2019ll take a full 92 points to surpass them.<\/p>\n
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From NHL.com<\/p>\n
These are the potential Round One playoff scenarios:<\/p>\n
-If Edmonton gains a point of any kind tonight, they secure second in the Pacific Division and will face whichever of Anaheim or Los Angeles finishes higher, with home-ice advantage.<\/p>\n
-If Edmonton loses in regulation and one of Anaheim or Los Angeles wins in any fashion, Edmonton finishes third in the Pacific Division and faces whichever team won, without home-ice advantage.<\/p>\n
-If Edmonton loses in regulation and both Anaheim and Los Angeles win, Edmonton finishes fourth in the Pacific Division. That means they slide all the way down to the second wild card slot \u2013 with the Utah Mammoth already at 92 points and holding the tiebreaker against the Oilers \u2013 which would mean a first round matchup with the Colorado Avalanche.<\/p>\n
That is, to put it mildly, an enormous range of potential postseason matchups. And, as we said, it literally all comes down this final night on the regular season schedule.<\/p>\n
To actually see this one play out will require some out-of-town scoreboard watching. All of the games mentioned will be played at roughly the same time. The Ducks face the Nashville Predators at 5:00PM PDT. The Kings play the Calgary Flames at 6:00PM PDT. And the game between the Oilers and the Canucks also begins at 6:00PM PDT.<\/p>\n
But if the Ducks and\/or the Kings are up by any significant margin, the Canucks will know that all it will take from them is a regulation win to condemn the Oilers to their worst-case scenario: a first round matchup with Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and the rest of the high-flying Avalanche.<\/p>\n
Now, for those in the Canucks community who do not enjoy schadenfreude in the slightest, there\u2019s still not much to cheer for on this Thursday evening. But for those of us who derive at least a little pleasure from the misfortune of others, and especially others from rival hockey franchises<\/a>, there\u2019s a lot to be had here.<\/p>\n Because a first round matchup with the Avalanche is really a nightmare outcome for the 2025-26 Oilers. Never mind the optics of going into the year expecting to be true contenders, and ending up with the eighth seed. It\u2019s that, plus a matchup that the Oilers are likely to lose.<\/p>\n To be fair, anyone would be favoured to lose against the Avs in Round One. They finished with 119 points and won the Presidents\u2019 Trophy by a seven-point margin. But it\u2019s a particularly bad matchup for the Oilers. Edmonton was outscored by Colorado 14-5 in the regular season series this year. And that makes sense, because the Avalanche scored a league-leading 300 goals this year, while only allowing a league-leading 203 against. Their +97 rating was 44 points better than the next-best team, which was Dallas at +53<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Avalanche are, quite simply, dominant right now. And the Oilers, quite simply, have a problem keeping pucks out of their own net. Edmonton scored 276 goals of their own this year, good for ninth overall in the league, but allowed 268 against, which was the seventh-most.<\/p>\n Specifically, the Oilers have had some well-documented issues with their goaltending. They swapped Stuart Skinner out for Tristan Jarry, but that has proved to be little more than an expensive downgrade. He finishes the year with a .858 save-percentage and a 3.86 goals-against average. Recently-acquired backup, probable playoff starter, and restoration project Connor Ingram has been a little better at .899 and 2.65, respectively, but hasn\u2019t exactly inspired a ton of confidence himself.<\/p>\n MacKinnon, meanwhile, just put together a season in which he achieved 97 even-strength points, the most by any player since Wayne Gretzky scored more 35 years ago.<\/p>\n What we\u2019re saying here is that if the Oilers play the Avalanche in the first round, the odds are that they get absolutely lit up. Lit up, specifically, in a way that involves their goalies getting torched. And that could have some interesting long-term implications, besides the immediate embarrassment of the two-time defending Western Conference champs bowing out in the first round.<\/p>\n The goalie situation has been a sticky one in Edmonton for a while now. There has been a lot of reported tension this year, too, with apparent on-ice yelling matches between Jarry and teammates at practice. We can\u2019t know for sure, but suspect that the Oilers\u2019 inability to put together a true championship roster, starting from the crease out, has a lot to do with McDavid only being willing to sign a two-year extension with them this past summer.<\/p>\n Which leads us to believe that a first round exit, in which the Oilers\u2019 goaltenders get torched, probably greatly complicates the relationship with McDavid. It could realistically lead to him wanting out sooner rather than later, which would really mark a death knell for these current Oilers.<\/p>\n So, when we say \u201cworst-case scenario,\u201d we do mean worst-case scenario. A first round matchup with the Avalanche could really be the beginning of the end for the Oilers\u2019 coulda-beena-dynasty.<\/p>\n And, with a little help from the Ducks and the Kings, it could all be within the Vancouver Canucks\u2019 hands tonight.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s why it\u2019s perhaps not just something for the fans to root for vindictively, but also for the players themselves to get up for \u2013 especially the younger ones. There\u2019s got to be at least a little excitement in \u201cdropping McDavid and the Oilers down to the eighth seed with one big win,\u201d and maybe that\u2019s worth a bit of extra jump and pride in the Canucks tonight.<\/p>\n At the very least, it\u2019s definitely more than most thought they\u2019d have to play for in the final game of this particular season.<\/p>\n
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