After losing 6-2 to the St. Louis Blues on Friday (April 3), the Anaheim Ducks are now deadlocked with the Edmonton Oilers atop the Pacific Division standings. With less than two weeks remaining in the 2025-26 NHL season, the Oilers and Ducks both have 87 points and six games left to play.
Edmonton, however, holds the tiebreaker over Anaheim by virtue of having more regulation wins. That means Edmonton controls its own destiny. If the Oilers win the rest of their games, they’ll place first in their division for the first time since 1986-87.
Related: Breaking Down How the Oilers Can Overtake the Ducks for First in the Pacific
The Oilers have won their last five games, but what are the chances they can push their win streak to 11 games by closing the season with six more victories in a row? It’s a task that seems daunting, but a game-by-game breakdown shows that it might be so far-fetched. Here’s a look at Edmonton’s six remaining contests:
April 4 vs. Vegas Golden Knights
The Oilers host the Vegas Golden Knights in what is their biggest game of the season so far. With 84 points, the Golden Knights are hot on the heels of Anaheim and Edmonton, and a win on Saturday (April 4) would pull Vegas within one point of the Oilers.
On the other hand, an Edmonton win would put a gap of five points between the two teams. Given that the Oilers also hold a tiebreaker over Vegas, that would be a lot of ground for the Golden Knights to cover with only five remaining games.
Vegas is starting to gain a bit of momentum, with back-to-back victories while outscoring the opposition 10-5 since firing head coach Bruce Cassidy and replacing him with John Tortorella last week. However, the Oilers have had tremendous success against Vegas of late, winning nine of their last 10 head-to-head meetings (regular season and playoffs), including all three so far in 2025-26.
April 7 at Utah Mammoth
After facing Vegas, the Oilers will have a couple of days off before playing the opening contest of a three-game road trip at the Delta Center against the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday (April 7).
There will be a lot at stake in this game, as Utah is looking to clinch a playoff berth of its own. The Mammoth currently occupy the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference, with 84 points, five more than the Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, and San Jose Sharks, who all have 79 points.
The Mammoth will also be playing on two days’ rest and have the advantage of playing at home. But history overwhelmingly favours the Oilers. In five head-to-head meetings with the Utah franchise since it relocated to Salt Lake City in 2024, Edmonton is 5-0 with an average margin of victory of 3.2 goals.
April 8 at San Jose Sharks
This will be Edmonton’s last time playing on back-to-back nights this season, as the Oilers battle the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Wednesday (April 8), less than 24 hours after getting off the ice in Salt Lake City, around 800 miles away. It’s not an ideal scenario for the Oilers, who are only 3-4-5 when playing with zero days between games in 2025-26. The Sharks, meanwhile, will be well-rested and waiting for Edmonton, with their last game having come two days prior, also at home.
The Sharks also have a lot on the line, as they battle the likes of Los Angeles and Nashville for a wild-card spot. Not that long ago, it appeared that the Sharks might drop out of the playoff race, but San Jose reeled off four straight wins from March 28 to April 2 to get right back into contention.
Edmonton and San Jose have met three times previously this season, with the home team winning each game. The Oilers prevailed by scores of 4-3 (in overtime) and 5-3 at Rogers Place, while San Jose was victorious by a 5-4 score at SAP Center. Â
April 11 at Los Angeles Kings
Edmonton’s final road game of the regular season finds the Oilers facing another team that’s desperate to gain points in the wild-card race. Despite losing 60 percent of their games, the Los Angeles Kings have managed to stay in the hunt thanks to an all-time NHL record of 19 points gained from losses in overtime or a shootout.
The Kings have been dreadful at Crypto.com Arena, where they have a record of 11-17-9 this season, including an 8-1 loss to the Oilers in February. Only the Vancouver Canucks – the 32nd-place team in the overall NHL standings – have fewer home wins in 2025-26.
With just a few days left in the season, Los Angeles could be on the brink, and after having lost to Edmonton in the first round of the playoffs each of the last four springs, the Kings will not want to be eliminated by the Oilers yet again.
April 13 vs. Colorado Avalanche
On paper, this is Edmonton’s toughest remaining opponent. Through their first 74 games, the Colorado Avalanche lead the NHL with 108 points, six more than any other team, and have an incredible 43 regulation wins through their first 74 games, while no one else in the NHL has more than 35.
The Avalanche also destroyed Edmonton on their previous visit to Rogers Place this season, winning by a score of 9-1 on Nov. 8. That game might as well have come in another season, however, as it came during a low point for an Oilers team that has since undergone several roster changes. To that point, the Oilers went into Denver and beat the Avalanche 4-3 at Ball Arena on March 10.
But the real saving grace for the Oilers might be that Colorado has nothing left to play for. It’s quite possible that by April 13, the Avalanche will have clinched first place in the Central Division, Western Conference, and NHL. If that’s the case, the Avalanche could give a few of their key players the night off, although they might not do that until facing the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome the following night.
April 16 vs. Vancouver Canucks
Speaking of resting players, it’s possible that the Oilers could do that when they host the Vancouver Canucks on the final night of the regular season. But that’s only if they’re locked into a playoff position. If first place in the Pacific Division is still up for grabs on April 16, Edmonton should come out with all guns blazing.
Edmonton couldn’t ask for a more beatable opponent to close out its schedule. Vancouver is playing out the string of a historically bad campaign, which will see the Canucks finish last in the NHL overall standings for the first time ever. While every other team in the Pacific Division was still mathematically alive for a playoff spot, the Canucks clinched 32nd place on April 2, a full two weeks before the end of the 2025-26 regular season.
With that said, the Canucks haven’t been rolling over (they just beat the powerhouse Avalanche in Denver this week), and they are 1-1-1 against Edmonton this season, although their win and overtime loss both happened in October, which feels like a lifetime ago for both teams. More recently, Edmonton clobbered the Canucks by a score of 6-0 at Rogers Arena on Jan. 17.
The Oilers should be able to clinch the Pacific Division title by winning five, or maybe even fewer, of their remaining six games. But going 6-0-0 guarantees it. The first leg of the race for first place starts tonight against the Golden Knights in downtown Edmonton.
