NHL Playoffs: Second Round Preview

Edmonton Oilers vs. Anaheim Ducks

In a matchup between the always-relevant Anaheim Ducks, led by Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, and the on-the-rise Edmonton Oilers, led by super phenom Connor McDavid, the NHL will bet some fresh faces in the Western Conference Finals. Both teams have not seen the likes of that respective series since 2014 (Ducks) and 2006 (Oilers), and are looking to step out of the shadow that has been cast by the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks in recent years.

In this series, we will see two high-scoring and hard-hitting teams take the ice for what should be a tight matchup.

Masterful McDavid

McDavid has been nothing short of excellent in his sophomore season as he led the Oilers to the playoffs as the only player in the league to amass 100 points this season. In doing so, the cast of characters around him, including Leon Draisaitl, Jordan Eberle, and Zack Kassian, are finally able to show the world what has come from their rebuild, and boy, do they look poised to strike.

In six games against the San Jose Sharks, the Oilers had nine different players score at least one goal, with McDavid being one of only three to score multiple times.

For Edmonton to be successful in this series, we will likely need to see plenty of what we saw in their first-round matchup as well as more masterful play from former New York Rangers backup Cam Talbot. Talbot broke the Oilers' record for most wins in the regular season this year with 42, but Edmonton got here despite Talbot allowing the most first-round goals of any goaltender in the Western Conference.

Duck and Cover

Despite only playing four games in Round 1, the Ducks are the only team in the Western Conference to have four of their players featured in the top 15 in scoring. This is highlighted by veteran Getzlaf, who led the team with three goals and two assists in the four game sweep of the Calgary Flames. Shea Theodore, Rickard Rakell, and Nate Thompson are the other three players in the top 15, each amassing four points in the series win.

As always, John Gibson was pretty lights out for the Ducks, posting top-five numbers among Western Conference goalies in save percentage (.926) and goals allowed (9).

The Verdict

In five games this season between the two clubs, we saw Edmonton post a 3-2 record. This includes overtime wins on December 3rd and April 1st, showing us that these two teams are pretty evenly matched. We can expect an exciting series, filled with plenty of scoring and plenty of physicality.

This series should be one of the closer Round 2 battles, according to our nERD metric. The Ducks (0.29) and Oilers (0.21) are very similar, and we have Anaheim with the slightest of upper hands, giving them a 52.90% chance to win the series.