![\"Leon](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2218982094_ad8ae9-e1758113086788.jpg\")
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Leon Draisaitl & Connor McDavid<\/p>\n
To nobody\u2019s surprise, the Edmonton Oilers<\/a> are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and are hoping that the third time will be the charm for them in 2026.<\/p>\n The Oilers are the two-time defending Western Conference champions, but saw their dreams of bringing the Stanley Cup back to Edmonton for what would have been the first time since 1990 were dashed both times by the Florida Panthers<\/a>. This time, the Oilers won\u2019t have to go through the Panthers, who were completely decimated by injuries this season and ultimately fell short of the playoffs.<\/p>\n Speaking of injuries, the Oilers suffered a significant one weeks ago when star forward Leon Draisaitl was hurt and declared finished for the remainder of the regular season. While they were unable to give a clear projection on whether he\u2019d be ready for the beginning of the postseason, it appears as though Oilers fans now have their answer.<\/p>\n The Edmonton Oilers Appear Ready To Welcome Back Leon Draisaitl For Game 1<\/p>\n Based on the line combinations that the Oilers practiced with on Sunday in preparation for Game 1 on Monday evening against the visiting Anaheim Ducks, it appears as though Draisaitl will be ready to go.<\/p>\n The Oilers skated with the following combinations:<\/p>\n Matthew Savoie \u2013 Connor McDavid \u2013 Zach Hyman<\/p>\n Vasily Podkolzin \u2013 Leon Draisaitl \u2013 Kasperi Kapanen<\/p>\n Ryan Nugent-Hopkins \u2013 Jason Dickinson \u2013 Jack Roslovic<\/p>\n Colton Dach \u2013 Adam Henrique \u2013 Trent Frederic<\/p>\n Mattias Ekholm \u2013 Evan Bouchard<\/p>\n Darnell Nurse \u2013 Connor Murphy<\/p>\n Jake Walman \u2013 Ty Emberson<\/p>\n Draisaitl, who was hurt on March 15 against the Nashville Predators, said that he\u2019s feeling better.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel good, we\u2019ll see how it feels tomorrow and then we\u2019ll make a call from there,\u201d he said<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s been good. Our staff, mainly (strength and conditioning coach Chad Drummond and assistant athletic therapist Chris Davie), they\u2019ve done an amazing job being patient with me and looking at everything that there is to look at. So, I\u2019m very grateful for those two and everyone else that was involved with it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of lonely times when you\u2019re hurt; guys are on the road, you\u2019re kind of grinding by yourself. I\u2019m happy where it\u2019s at right now, we\u2019ll see how it evolves, and we\u2019ll see how I feel tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n Draisaitl managed 35 goals with 62 assists in the 65 games he played in this season.<\/p>\n The Oilers Are Excited For The Playoffs<\/p>\n For the first time since 2022, the Oilers will not face the Los Angeles Kings<\/a> in the opening round of the postseason, but instead face another team from Southern California, the Anaheim Ducks, marking their first postseason matchup in 20 years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt just provides excitement. Some adrenaline for the players,\u201d said head coach Kris Knoblauch<\/a>. \u201cWhether it\u2019s in the building on game days or driving to the game, just seeing the excitement in the city, everyone cheering everybody on, it\u2019s important.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the people in the city to have a successful hockey team, somebody to root for, but it\u2019s also exciting for the players to know that they\u2019re supported and the city\u2019s getting excited about their success.\u201d<\/p>\n Game 1 of the series will begin on Monday evening from Rogers Place in downtown Edmonton.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMichael Whitaker<\/a> Michael Whitaker is a sports journalist based in metro Detroit with nearly a full decade of experience with publications like Clutch Points and The Hockey News. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from Eastern Michigan University. More about Michael Whitaker<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Oilers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Leon Draisaitl & Connor McDavid To nobody\u2019s surprise, the Edmonton Oilers are back in the Stanley Cup…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":556352,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5125],"tags":[198,146,5300,5,4,24],"class_list":{"0":"post-556351","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edmonton-oilers","8":"tag-edmonton","9":"tag-edmonton-oilers","10":"tag-edmontonoilers","11":"tag-hockey","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-oilers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116433861448020870","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=556351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/556352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=556351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=556351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=556351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}