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Oilers clinch home-ice advantage with 6-1 win over Canucks: Recap, Reaction and Highlights
Edmonton Oilers Connor McDavid
Photo credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Apr 17, 2026, 00:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 17, 2026, 00:06 EDT
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The Edmonton Oilers’ regular season is now over, which means the real thing begins now.
Game 82 was a home contest against the Vancouver Canucks, with the Oilers coming away with a 6-1 victory. It was an important game, as a win would clinch home ice, while a loss and wins from the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings would’ve given the Oilers a first-round date with the Colorado Avalanche. Let’s take a look at what went on in this one.
It didn’t take long for the Oilers to get on the board. Just two minutes into the game, Colton Dach made a nice move and dropped it to Josh Samanski. The German attempted to give Trent Frederic a cross-ice pass, but the puck bounced off a Canuck for the 1-0 lead and Samanski’s second career goal.
Seven minutes into the first period, the Oilers scored a second goal. Connor McDavid circled the net and passed the puck back to Evan Bouchard at the point. The defenseman slap-passed it to Matthew Savoie, who was standing by the left post, one-timing it home.
With just under eight minutes left in the first period, the Canucks got on the board. On a Canucks breakout, Zach Hyman skated to the puck carrier on the other side of the ice, allowing Ty Mueller to get in behind the defence. The Edmonton native went five hole on Connor Ingram to make it 2-1.
That Canucks goal made Oil Country sweat, and it looked like the Canucks could tie it with an odd-man rush on an Oilers power play with about five minutes left in the first. Instead, the Oilers defended the two-on-one well and forced a three-on-two the other way back. McDavid made a beautiful backdoor pass to Savoie, who fired it into the gaping net for his second of the game.
On a delayed penalty in the final minute of the first, Savoie scored his first career hat trick. It came courtesy of another fantastic McDavid pass, going cross-ice through traffic to a wide open Savoie on the doorstep.
A three-goal lead was more than enough to clinch home ice advantage, but the Oilers added their fifth goal in the second period. With about three minutes to go, the Oilers won an offensive zone face, McDavid got the puck down low and drove it to the net. After a pass to Zach Hyman, the puck went up in the air, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins batting it home for his 20th of the season.
In the third period, the Oilers’ third line scored their second goal of the game. They had sustained zone time for a while, and Connor Murphy received a cross-ice pass from Darnell Nurse. The puck went to a net-front Dach, who beat the Canucks’ goaltender for a 6-1 lead.

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Takeaways…

It’s been a long time since the Oilers played an important 82nd game. That was the case on Thursday, as they needed one point to clinch home ice advantage. Had they lost and both the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks won their game, the Oilers would have a first round date with the Colorado Avalanche.
Well, the Ducks happened to defeat the Nashville Predators 5-4, meaning that they will avoid the Avalanche. It also means that there’ll be no first-round matchup between the Oilers or Kings for the fifth consecutive year. Now that the Oilers won, they’ll have a first-round matchup against the Ducks.
Matthew Savoie had a terrific game. He scored three goals in the first period, becoming just the ninth Oiler in franchise history to achieve that feat. The rookie finished his season with 18 goals and 37 points in 82 games and should get some Calder Trophy votes, though it will go to Matthew Schaefer.
Speaking of awards, Connor McDavid will win the sixth Art Ross Trophy of his career, finishing with 48 goals and 138 points. Unfortunately, he fell two goals shy of reaching 50 for the second time in his career.
Additionally, Vasily Podkolzin will fall a goal shy of 20, but what a season it was for the Russian forward. The former Canuck will finish his season with a career-best 19 goals and 37 points in 82 games. It took just a fourth-round pick (which they got back) for Podkolzin’s services. Thank you, Vancouver.
Evan Bouchard picked up three first-period assists, giving him 95 points for the season. Although it was a fantastic season, it’s a bit disappointing he wasn’t able to reach triple digits, because there’d be no questions about his Norris Trophy candidacy.
The Oilers’ third line of Trent Frederic, Josh Samanski, and Colton Dach scored two of the six goals the Oilers scored in this game. Samanski scored the game’s first goal, as his pass deflected off a Canuck and in. It’s his second career goal, but neither of them has come via a shot. Dach scored his second as an Oiler. Frederic didn’t pick up a point in this game, but that will be a fantastic fourth line in the playoffs if everyone is healthy.
Connor Ingram was fine when called upon, stopping 10 of 11 shots for a .909 save percentage. The story of this game was the Oilers’ strong defence paired with an offensive explosion, out-shooting the Canucks 35 to 11.
It was a solid game for the Oilers’ special teams. They killed off the Canucks’ only power play while scoring two power play goals of their own. It’s good that both their penalty kill and power play are starting to get hot heading into the playoffs.
There were also two fights in this game. Dach dropped the mitts with defenceman Elias Pettersson, with the fight essentially being a wrestling match. In the second period, Connor Murphy laid a big hit, then landed some good lefts on Drew O’Connor.
Next up, the real season begins. The Oilers’ journey to the Stanley Cup Finals begins with a first-round matchup against the Anaheim Ducks, with Anaheim essentially being in Los Angeles. Game 1 is on Monday with a time to be determined.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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