Kapanen scores late to lift Oilers to 4-3 win over Ducks in playoff opener

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Troy Terry had two goals and an assist and Leo Carlsson also scored for the Ducks (43-33-6), who are in the post-season for the first time since 2018.

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Connor Ingram made 25 saves, including a doozy in the dying seconds to record the win in Edmonton’s net. Lukas Dostal recorded 30 saves for Anaheim.

The Oilers started the scoring with 2:39 remaining in the first period as Walman made a long stretch pass to Dickinson who undressed Dostal with a great move. The Oilers were 30-5-5 when scoring first this season.

Edmonton scored again exactly a minute later as Kapanen took a feed from Draisaitl and then had two cracks at his own rebound to score his first of the playoffs.

The Oilers outshot the Ducks 14-4 in the first period.

Anaheim only needed 19 seconds into the middle frame to make it 2-1 as Terry scored on a huge rebound off a Leo Carlsson shot.

The Ducks tied the game 4:38 into the second period as Carlsson returned the favour by banging in a Terry rebound.

Anaheim recorded 26 comeback wins this season, tied for the league lead with Montreal. The Ducks won 17 games when trailing by a goal and nine when down by two.

The Ducks took the lead on the power play with 5:31 left in the second as Terry, playing his first career playoff game, sent a shot through traffic in for his second of the contest.

Edmonton knotted the game at 3-3 as Radko Gudas blew a tire as a huge rebound on a Mattias Ekholm shot came to Dickinson for his second goal of the game.

The Oilers went up 4-3 with 1:54 left in the third as Vasily Podkolzin made a great backhand pass from behind the net to set up Kapanen’s second of the game.

NOTES

McDavid’s 138 regular-season points were exactly double that of Ducks’ leading scorer Cutter Gauthier’s 69. It is the third largest gap between each team’s leading scorer in an opening-round series in the last 30 years.

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Game 2 takes place on Wednesday in Edmonton.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2026.

Shane Jones, The Canadian Press