Ducks prove playoff worth, but drop Game 1 late in Edmonton

Apr 20, 2026; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers center Matt Savoie (22) with center Connor McDavid (97) attempt to stop Anaheim Ducks right winger Troy Terry (19) in game one of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs during the second period at Rogers Place. EDMONTON, AB – “I think we proved it to ourselves,” Troy Terry said. In the franchise’s first Stanley Cup Playoff game in eight years with 13 players making their postseason debuts in a raucous road atmosphere against two of the world’s very best players, the Anaheim Ducks did not look out of their depth on Monday at Rogers Place.

Anaheim did take the series’s first body blow, as the Edmonton Oilers rallied in the third period and netted the go-ahead goal with just under two minutes remaining to take a seesaw Game 1, 4-3, but aside from the waving towels and full-throated pre-game singing of “O, Canada” from the sellout Edmonton crowd, the playoff opener was functionally not much different than a typical Ducks game this season. A pair of singular misplays put Anaheim on the back foot in the first period, as the Oilers pounced to a 2-0 lead. As the Ducks do, they responded while trailing and did so immediately.

Terry scored his first of two second-period goals (three points in the period) just 19 seconds into the middle frame, and Leo Carlsson tied the game four minutes later. Terry’s second put the Ducks ahead into the third period. Another singular gaffe allowed the Oilers to tie with 9:30 left in the game, and soft defensive coverage gave Edmonton an opening to net the eventual game winner with just under two minutes remaining.

Even still, the Ducks nearly pulled out their game-tying magic in the final seconds, but the Oilers still earned the series’ opening salvo. “Great atmosphere in the start too. First five minutes felt like a playoff game,” Carlsson said, “then it was just kind of not exactly the same thing, but also didn't feel like a first playoff game either.