The Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks will meet in the postseason for just the second time in the history of the two franchises. Via Anaheim getting a point in their game against the Los Angeles Kings, the Ducks have clinched the Pacific Division title, thus locking Edmonton in as the second seed in the Pacific Division.
The Oilers and Sharks, who met five times in the regular season, will open their playoff series on Wednesday night in Edmonton. The last time these two teams met was in 2006, when the Oilers eliminated the Sharks in six games in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Oilers won four straight games after losing the first two tilts in San Jose.
Even though the Sharks are the defending Western Conference Champions, I believe that San Jose is the best matchup for this Edmonton team. The Oil have won three in a row against San Jose and the Sharks have been playing their worst hockey of the season in this last stretch. Edmonton’s 3-1-1 record against San Jose this season inspires confidence to this observer.
On top of that, both Joe Thornton and Logan Couture are banged up and may miss some time during the opening series. While Thornton says he expects to play, Couture stills does not have a timeline and likely won’t play in game one of the series. Even if both Thornton and Couture play, it’s quite safe to assume that they will be less than 100%.
The Oilers have the best player (McDavid) and have the better of the two goalies in Cam Talbot. It certainly will not be easy, but the Oilers will have the chance to win this series. As I mentioned above, I think this is the best matchup for Edmonton of the three possible opponents coming into the stretch drive. My take on the topic from last week can be found here.
We’ll have a complete preview and coverage of the Oilers/Sharks playoff series here at The Oilers Rig throughout the opening round.
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