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Jason Dickinson scores twice in Oilers’ playoff debut: Best Oilers moments of 2025-26

Photo credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images

By Ryley Delaney

Jul 24, 2026, 19:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 24, 2026, 19:19 EDT

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This summer, Oilersnation will recap the top five Edmonton Oilers goals, the top five fights, and the top five overall moments from the up-and-down 2025-26 season.

There weren’t a lot of positives from the Edmonton Oilers’ playoff run. Unlike the previous four seasons, the Oilers failed to get out of the first round, falling in six to the Anaheim Ducks. It was pretty clear that playing the most hockey in the last four years had finally caught up to them.

Despite never looking like an actual contender, the Oilers bought ahead of March 6’s trade deadline. Their biggest move saw them trade their 2027 first-rounder, as well as Andrew Mangiapane, to the Chicago Blackhawks for Colton Dach and Jason Dickinson.

As intriguing a player as Dach is, Dickinson was the big piece coming back. The veteran was brought in to be a strong defensive centre, and that was reflected in just one goal and four points in the 17 regular-season games he played for the Oilers.

That said, his Game 1 performance earns him the fourth-best Oiler moment from the 2025-26 season.

How did Jason Dickinson lead the Oilers in their Game 1 victory?

Although he had played for the Blackhawks for the past three seasons, Dickinson was no stranger to the postseason. In 2019, he played 13 games with the Dallas Stars, scoring three goals and five points.

Then, in 2020, Dickinson scored two goals and four points, and he and nine of his teammates became the only players to play 27 games in a single postseason. Ultimately, the Stars fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the pandemic-impacted Stanley Cup Final.

That was his final taste of playoff action until April 20, 2026, and it was pretty easy to tell he was itching to play meaningful hockey.

With just under three minutes left in the first period, he snuck behind the Ducks’ defence with speed and received a dart of a pass from Jake Walman, leading to a breakaway. The centre faked a shot, got Lukáš Dostal to bite, moved to his left, and fired it past the flopping netminder for the first Oilers goal of the postseason.

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JASON DICKINSON GETS THE FIRST GOAL OF THE 2026 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS FOR THE EDMONTON OILERS! 📹: Sportsnet

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2:57 AM · Apr 21, 2026

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A minute later, Kasperi Kapanen added a second goal, giving the Oilers a 2-0 lead after 20, the most complete period they played in the playoffs. It took just 19 seconds in the second for the Ducks to get on the board, and after 40, the Ducks held a 3-2 lead.

Enter Dickinson again.

With just under nine to play, Walman completed another nice breakout pass, this time finding Mattias Ekholm for a rush chance. Ekholm was aided by the Ducks’ defenceman tripping over the blue line, allowing him to enter the zone with no pressure and fire a slapper off the rush.

The shot was saved, but the rebound popped out to Dickinson, who quickly buried it to match the two goals he scored in his 27 playoff games in 2020. That momentum continued, and in the final minutes of the third period, Kapanen scored his second for a Game 1 victory.

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JASON DICKINSON TIES THE GAME FOR THE OILERS! 📹: Sportsnet

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4:40 AM · Apr 21, 2026

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Unfortunately, everything went downhill from there for both the Oilers and Dickinson. The Oilers lost their next three games, with Dickinson missing Games 2 and 3. In his return for Game 4, Dickinson picked up a helper, but the Oilers ultimately lost that game in overtime after a controversial call.

Game 5 went the Oilers’ way, but with the series returning to California, the Oilers were unable to drag the Ducks back to Alberta, falling 5-2 and ending their season.

Thankfully, Dickinson will be back in the Oilers’ lineup when next April rolls around. Before the start of free agency, the two parties agreed on a five-year deal worth $4 million annually.

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

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