It’s all but certain that the Edmonton Oilers will make their seventh consecutive postseason. That said, their first round opponent has yet to be determined, with the two likely options being the Vegas Golden Knights or the Utah Mammoth. The former is the team that the Oilers play on Saturday, and would be in a scenario where the Edmonton finishes second in the Pacific Division.

Being in the same division, the Oilers and Golden Knights have met in the postseason before, once in 2023 and again last year. In this edition of Flashback Friday, we’ll take a look at how those two series went.

2023 series

The p were a fun team. That season saw Connor McDavid set a career-high 64 goals and 153 points in 82 games, which happened to be his most recent Hart Trophy. Leon Draisaitl hit the 50-goal mark for the second time in his career, while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had one of the most surprising seasons in recent history, finishing with 104 points.

On top of that, the depth scoring of the team was the best it’s been in the McDavid era, leading to a 50-23-9 record and 109 points, two behind the Vegas Golden Knights. In the first round, they took on the Los Angeles Kings for the second time in as many years (the first of four, maybe five) first round matchups. It took six games, but the Oilers moved on to the second round, where they met the Golden Knights.

Game 1

Game 1 was on May 3, 2023. Just four minutes into the game, Draisaitl scored his eighth goal of the postseason, this one on the power play. However, the Knights scored less than a minute later, the first of three unanswered goals. With 11 seconds left in the first period, Draisaitl cut the Knights’ lead to one.

After a scoreless second period, it took just 95 seconds into the second period for the Oilers to tie it. Once again, it was Draisaitl, but the Golden Knights fired back with two goals in the following two minutes. Draisaitl scored his fourth of the game with about 11 and a half minutes later, but the Oilers were unable to find the game-tying goal, with Jack Eichel icing it with an empty-netter.

Game 2

Still in Sin City for Game 2, Draisaitl scored his fifth goal of the series on the power play just over two minutes into the game. Evan Bouchard added another power play goal seven minutes into the first, then Connor McDavid scored a shorthanded goal midway through the first. But it didn’t end there, as Draisaitl scored again to give the Oilers a 4-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

That was more than enough for the victory, but McDavid added a power play goal of his own midway through the second, with the Golden Knights ending Stuart Skinner’s shutout bid just 96 seconds into the third. In the end, the Oilers won 5-1.

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Game 3

Again, the Oilers scored first thanks to an early goal in the first period, as Warren Foegele scored his first of the postseason. Then two minutes later, Jonathan Marchessault scored to tie it. One of three turning points of the series came midway through the first, as former Oiler Laurent Brossoit went down with an injury, meaning Adin Hill came into the game.

Hill stopped all 24 shots he faced, with the Golden Knights scoring the game-winning goal late in the first. Their run of unanswered goals continued into the second period, as Zach Whitecloud, Eichel, and Chandler Stephenson all found twine in a 5-1 Golden Knights win.

Game 4

Needing a win to avoid going to Vegas down 3-1, the Oilers responded with a victory in Game 4. Nick Bjugstad scored seven minutes into the first period, Bouchard added a power play goal less than a minute later, then Mattias Ekholm scored with six and a half minutes left in the first period. The Oilers extended their lead to four thanks to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ fourth of the postseason with about five minutes left in the second.

Six minutes into the third, Nicolas Roy scored to break Skinner’s shutout once again, but that wasn’t the notable thing that happened in the period. The teams combined for 93 penalty minutes in the third period, with two penalties sticking out. With a minute and a half remaining in the game, Alex Pietrangelo axe chopped Draisaitl on the hands, resulting in a five and a game.

Then with 50 seconds left in the game, Darnell Nurse fought Nicolas Hague, a willing combatant, off an offensive zone faceoff, resulting in an instigator and a game misconduct. Somehow, these two penalties both resulted in a one-game suspension, the second turning point of the game.

Game 5

All tied up at two, the teams returned to Las Vegas for a pivotal Game 5. Again, the Oilers scored first early in the opening frame, with McDavid scoring a power play goal. Then 50 seconds later, Eichel tied it. Midway through the first, Hyman scored a power play goal to take a 2-1 lead.

The third turning point of the series came in the second period, as Philip Broberg held Eichel and Mattias Janmark high-sticked Eichel, leading to a five on three. The resulting five on three resulted in two Golden Knight goals, with the team extending their lead to two thanks to a goal with four and a half minutes left in the second.

However, the Oilers had a chance of their own, as Keegan Kolesar boarded Mattias Ekholm, receiving a five and a game. McDavid scored a goal on that lengthy power play, but they were unable to find the game-tying goal with over 17 minutes to do so.

Down 3-2 in the series, the Oilers were on the brink and heading home for Game 6.

Game 6

For the first time in the series, the Golden Knights scored first, as Reilly Smith beat Skinner just 24 seconds in. This time, it was the Oilers to respond quickly, as McDavid scored 55 seconds into the period. Then, Foegele scored his second of the series just under three minutes into the first.

The Golden Knights dominated the second period again, as Marchessault scored a natural hat trick, tying it four and a half minutes into the period, taking the lead about eight minutes into the middle frame, then giving the Knights an insurance goal late in the second. They didn’t need it despite 40 shots in the game, with Karlsson icing the game with an empty-netter, ending the Oilers series.

As you know, the Knights went on to win the Stanley Cup, defeating the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Finals, then the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Finals.

2025 series

The Oilers returned to the second round in 2024 after defeating the Kings. In the second round, they beat the Vancouver Canucks in seven games, then beat the Stars in six to make their first Stanley Cup Finals since 2006.

Facing the Florida Panthers, they dug themselves a big hole early, falling in Games 1, 2, and 3. They started to play better midway through Game 3, but were unable to complete the comeback in the game. Instead, they started a comeback in the series, winning Game 4 by a score of 8-1. The Oilers dragged the Panthers back to Florida in Game 5, winning that one 5-3, then setting up a winner-take-all Game 7 with a 5-1 victory. You know what happened in that game.

The Oilers had a tough end to the 2024-25 season, dealing with a plethora of injuries. In the final game before the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Oilers dropped a 5-4 decision to the Colorado Avalanche, kick-starting a five-game losing streak. Over their last 28 games, the Oilers ended their season 14-13-1.

Limping into the playoffs, their struggles continued as they started to get healthy. They completed a late comeback in Game 1 against the Kings, but less than a minute after tying it at five, Phillip Danault scored the game-winner. Game 2 somehow ended worse, losing 6-2. Thankfully, the Oilers turned to Calvin Pickard, winning their next four games with two turning points in that series as well. Maybe we’ll cover that in next week’s Flashback Friday.

With the series win, that set up a second-round matchup against the Golden Knights.

Game 1

Two years later, it was different as the Oilers were just two goals shy of winning the Stanley Cup. Game 1 was in Sin City, with the Golden Knights scoring first just over two minutes into the game. Midway through the first, Mark Stone scored his second of the game.

Then the Oilers figured it out, as Corey Perry scored with about three and a half minutes left in the first. After a scoreless second, Draisaitl scored 57 seconds into the third period to tie it, then Hyman scored the game-winning goal with three minutes left in the game. They didn’t even need an empty-netter for an insurance goal, as Connor Brown scored just over a minute later for a 4-2 victory in Game 1.

Game 2

The Golden Knights opened the scoring again in Game 2, with Victor Olofsson beating Pickard on the power play. Midway through the second, Jake Walman scored his first career power play goal to tie it, then Vasily Podkolzin tied it with five minutes left. Darnell Nurse gave the Oilers an insurance goal with just over three minutes left in the period. Before the end of the second, Karlsson scored to bring the Golden Knights to within one.

Heading into the third, the Oilers restored their two-goal lead thanks to Evander Kane’s third of the postseason two minutes into the period. However, the Golden Knights tied the game thanks to Olofsson’s second of the game five minutes into the third, then Pietriangelo’s goal with eight minutes left, setting up overtime.

The Oilers dominated in overtime, and eventually, McDavid beat a Golden Knights defender for a two-on-one. A simple pass to Draisaitl led to the overtime winner.

Game 3

In Game 2, Pickard suffered a knee injury. He played through it to end the game, but he went on the shelf, meaning Skinner returned to the crease. For the first time in the 2025 postseason, the Oilers opened the scoring thanks to Perry’s fourth of the postseason just over seven minutes into the game.

They extended their lead to two, with Perry deflecting it past Adin Hill. But the Golden Knights fought back, with Roy scoring with five minutes left, then Smith tying it less than a minute later. Late in the second, Karlsson scored to take the lead, but McDavid scored with just over three minutes left to tie the game at three.

It looked as if the two teams were going to overtime for the second consecutive game, but Smith scored with less than a second left in the game to give the Golden Knights some life in the series. Skinner had a rough game in his return, stopping just 20 of 24 shots. He didn’t allow another goal in the series.

Game 4

Game 4 was an important one for the Oilers, as a win would put them in a driver’s seat, a loss would make it a best of three. Thankfully, it was the former, as Adam Henrique scored just 97 seconds into the game.

There was no immediate response from the Knights like there was two years prior, as Henrique scored his second goal of the game seven minutes into the first. Kane gave the Oilers some breathing room, adding their third seven and a half minutes into the second period. The Oilers only needed one, as Skinner stopped all 23 shots he faced.

With the win, the two teams returned to Vegas with the Oilers having a chance to win it.

Game 5

Game 5 was an instant classic. It was a cagey affair, with the teams combining for just 46 shots through the first three periods. Both Skinner and Hill held sway, as the two teams were deadlocked at nothing a piece heading into the overtime period.

Finally, the Oilers slayed their demon, as Kasperi Kapanen found the overtime winner about seven minutes into the extra frame to send the Oilers to the Western Conference Finals for the third time in four years.

There, Skinner continued his amazing play, allowing just 10 goals on 132 shots for a .924 save percentage. In the end, the Oilers defeated the Stars in five games, meaning they went 12-2 from Game 3 of the Kings series until the Stanley Cup Finals.

In Game 4 of the Stars’ series, Hyman suffered a postseason-ending injury, which turned out to be the catalyst for their second consecutive defeat in the Stanley Cup Finals at the hands of the Panthers.

Hopefully, the 2026 season is the year that the Oilers win it all.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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