It’s official. The boys are playoff-bound.

After a 4-2 victory against the San Jose Sharks on Friday, the Edmonton Oilers officially punched their ticket to the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The road to the playoffs certainly hasn’t been a smooth one for the team, nor has it ever been, really. Edmonton started the 2024-25 season by losing five of its first seven games. The Oilers were able to slowly get things back on track around the holiday season, climbing back up the charts and challenging the Vegas Golden Knights for first in the Pacific Division.

However, injuries started to pile up after the 4 Nations Face-Off. Captain Connor McDavid missed eight games with an undisclosed injury, and Leon Draisaitl suffered an injury, came back, then went back on the injured list earlier this month.

Missing key players led to some struggles in recent weeks for Edmonton, leading to the team falling out of the division championship race.

The Oilers hope they can reverse their recent fortunes and make another deep run in the playoffs. Last year, the team came one win away from winning the franchise’s first Stanley Cup since 1990, ultimately losing to the Florida Panthers in Game 7.

While things have yet to be finalized, the Oilers are on a clear path to facing the Los Angeles Kings in the opening round of the playoffs for the fourth year in a row. The only question will be whether or not Edmonton will take back home-ice advantage as they have in the previous three post-seasons. After Friday’s action, the Oilers are third in the Pacific Division, four points back of the Kings for second.

Edmonton has defeated the Kings in each of the three postseason matchups, taking L.A. down in five last spring. However, the Kings have had the Oilers’ number this season, winning two of the first three meetings.

The Oilers (45-28-5) have three games remaining before the playoffs, including a highly-anticipated matchup with the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday. Edmonton rounds out the schedule with its home finale against the Kings on Monday before visiting the Sharks on Wednesday.