The Edmonton Oilers face a critical final stretch, with only 18 games left in the 2025–26 regular season. With inconsistent results lately, their playoff hopes now hang in the balance. The main question: Will the Oilers secure a postseason spot this year?
With the NHL standings tight, the Oilers risk missing the playoffs if they keep losing winnable games. They are third in the Pacific with 70 points, behind Vegas (72), and, surprisingly, Anaheim (73).
When you look at how the Wild Card standings are in the Western Conference, the Utah Mammoth (72 points) and Seattle Kraken (67 points) are the two teams holding the wild card spots. The San Jose Sharks (66 points) and Los Angeles Kings (64 points) are only one and three points out of a wild card spot, respectively.
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The Kraken can pass the Oilers in points
One of the newer NHL teams, the Seattle Kraken, have a legitimate shot at potentially passing the Oilers in points for the playoffs, and it is all thanks to the way that they have been playing. Through their 62 games played this season, Seattle currently has 29 wins, 24 losses, and nine overtime losses. In their last 10 games, they have only been mediocre with a 5–5 record.
If you look at the remaining schedule for the Kraken, they have roughly nine games to be played against some of the bottom teams in the NHL, and six games that will be really tough against some of the best teams. The remaining five games will be played against a few of their division rivals or teams on the outside looking in.
| Top Teams | Bottom Teams | Middle/Division Teams |
| Colorado Avalanche X2 | Chicago Blackhawks | Vancouver Canucks |
| Tampa Bay Lightning X2 | Winnipeg Jets | Calgary Flames |
| Buffalo Sabres | Nashville Predators X2 | Los Angelas Kings |
| Minnesota Wild | Edmonton Oilers | |
| Vegas Golden Knights X2 | ||
| Florida Panthers X2 | ||
| Columbus Blue Jackets | ||
| Utah Mammoth |
Just based on this chart alone, the odds do weigh pretty well in Seattle’s favour to finish the season with at least nine or 10 more wins. This would give them around 20 more points and the opportunity to finish the season with anywhere from 87 to 90 points. That would be more than enough for them to pass the Edmonton Oilers and make the playoffs, right?
San Jose can pass Edmonton in points
The San Jose Sharks, who were one of the worst teams over the last three years, are currently sitting in a similar spot as they did back in the 2021–22 season. There exists a world where they end up passing the Oilers in points and taking their spot in the playoffs. They have a couple of players to thank because of their record of 30 wins, 25 losses, and six overtime losses.
In their previous 10 games, they have not been great with a 3–4–3 record. If you look at the remaining schedule for the Sharks, they have around nine games against some of the bottom teams in the league, and five games against the top 13 teams in the league. The remaining seven games will be played against some teams in the middle of the pack.
| Top Teams | Bottom Teams | Middle of the Pack |
| Buffalo Sabres X2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Ottawa Senators |
| Montreal Canadiens | Nashville Predators X3 | Edmonton Oilers X2 |
| Boston Bruins | Chicago Blackhawks X2 | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Vancouver Canucks | |
| Anaheim Ducks X2 | Winnipeg Jets | |
| St. Louis Blues X2 |
Based on this chart, games are looking a lot more diffucult and it will be tough for San Jose to finish with at least 12 more wins. This would give them around 24 more points and the opportunity to complete the season with around 90 points. If they do somehow pull this off, because with Macklin Celebrini, anything is possible, Edmonton would have a way harder time keeping ahead of the Sharks.
The Kings can pass the Oilers in points
The Edmonton Oilers must be getting tired of competing against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the playoffs four years in a row. The Kings are currently on the outside looking in for the first time since the 2021–22 season. It will be harder for the Kings to make the playoffs this season because of the level of competition, but as people say, anything is possible.
In their previous 10 games, they have been pretty bad with a 3–6–1 record. If you look at their remaining schedule, San Jose has roughly 10 games left against the bottom teams in the league and five games against the top 14 teams in the league. The remaining four games will be played against teams in the mushy middle.
| Top Teams | Bottom Teams | Mushy Middle |
| Boston Bruins | New York Rangers | Philadelphia Flyers |
| New York Islanders | Calgary Flames X2 | Edmonton Oilers |
| Buffalo Sabres | Vancouver Canucks X3 | Seattle Kraken |
| Utah Mammoth X2 | St. Louis Blues | New Jersey Devils |
| Nashville Predators X2 | ||
| Toronto Maple Leafs |
Just based on this chart alone, the Kings look like they are going to have a very good chance to finish the season with 10 to 12 more wins. This would give them around 20 more points and the chance to finish with 86 to 90 more points. Imagine the Edmonton Oilers getting knocked out of the playoffs by Los Angeles after beating them in the first round four years in a row—now that would be a story.
Time will tell if the Oilers will make it to the playoffs again, but with a record of four wins and six losses in their last 10 games, and 41 goals for with 43 goals against, a lot of things do not seem to be going their way right now. If this play keeps up and sees no improvement over their last 18 games, the Edmonton Oilers might actually miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2018–19 season.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
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