2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Round 1, Game 1 - Ducks vs. Oilers Gameday Preview (04/20/26)
The Hockey News' Derek Lee previews the Ducks' first playoff game in eight years.
Video Transcript
So what do we know about Anaheim?
What is the, you know, the kind of book report on them as they prepare for the postseason?
I mean, that's a very exciting young team, and they obviously have, a lot of experience behind the bench in Joel Quenneville, who has really harnessed this team.
I remember talking to some of the Ducks early in the season, and they talked about how markedly different they wa- were under Coach Q, and obviously he's won Cups before during his Chicago tenure.
So I, I mean, they're ex- they're an exciting team.
They make mistakes, but so do the Oilers .
You know?
Like, so this could be a really up and down series.
Like, this could be a series where we see a lot of, like, 6-5 games or, you know- I was gonna say high scoring.
Feels that way I think it could be high scoring or, like, one team really takes control and, you know, maybe there's, like, a 5-1 game, and then the next time the other team wins 6-2 or something.
it's gonna be interesting to see.
Yeah.
Are there, are there comparisons between the Ducks that, you know, Quenneville's coaching and that Chicago Blackhawks team that was really young and just stacked, and final- and went the distance?
Because when I look at that Ducks team, you know, you've got Cutter Gauthier, you've got Beckett Seneca, who both had fantastic years.
You got Leo Carlsson.
So that's the young core, but then you also got a lot of really good veterans who play a hard, physical game.
You know- Chris Kreider being one of them.
And, you know, if it comes together, th- we could be looking at just a magical postseason for Anaheim.
But, you know, we'll, we'll see 'cause, like, to your point, Ryan, there's just a lot of unknowns and a lot of kind of, you know, young guys who still make a lot of mistakes.
