Oilers’ fatal flaw that will doom them in 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Edmonton Oilers are headed to the Stanley Cup Playoffs once again. It certainly wasn’t the prettiest regular season of all time. But that’s about par for the course for Edmonton at this stage in the season. We will have a new Stanley Cup champion this year, and Edmonton believes they have the team to get the job done.

Edmonton didn’t make many splash moves this season. But they did add some players at key positions. Tristan Jarry, Connor Ingram, Jason Dickinson, and Connor Murphy joined the Oilers midseason as the team looked to add depth to its roster for the postseason.

Edmonton will own home ice during the first round. However, they are not going to face the Los Angeles Kings again. For the first time in five seasons, Edmonton will have a different opponent: the Anaheim Ducks.

The Oilers finished second in the Pacific Division and will take on the Anaheim Ducks. This is the first time the Ducks have made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2018. Anaheim and Edmonton last met during the 2017 playoffs, with the Ducks winning the second-round series in seven games.

Ahead of Monday’s Game 1, it’s time to take a look at the Oilers roster. Specifically, it’s time to examine the major glaring flaw with this team that could make or break them in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Oilers’ goaltending is still a massive question mark

The Oilers have had issues with their goaltending over the last few seasons. Edmonton’s goaltending always presented itself as the end of two extremes. They were either completely dialed in, or they were allowing goals left, right, and center.

The Oilers will once again have this issue in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Edmonton’s midseason trade for Jarry has not worked out in the slightest. He has played to a nigh-unplayable .858 save percentage in 18 games following the trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Edmonton has been able to rely on Stuart Skinner in the postseason in years past. Skinner has shown the ability to play some of the most dominating hockey from a goaltender in recent memory. However, Skinner was included in the Jarry trade and will now try to lead the Penguins to a Stanley Cup.

The other goaltender in Edmonton’s rotation is Connor Ingram. The 29-year-old has assumed the starter’s role for the Oilers, and has turned in okay results. He ended the season with an .899 save percentage. He entered play Thursday with 0.94 Goals Saved Above Average and 9.54 Goals Saved Above Expected, according to Evolving Hockey.

To be fair, the Ducks aren’t exactly sure what they will get from their netminder in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, either. Lukas Dostal assumed the full-time starter’s role after the John Gibson trade over the summer. In his first season as the undisputed No. 1 starter, he finished with an .888 save percentage, -10.61 Goals Saved Above Average, and 25 Goals Saved Above Expected.

Despite these numbers, Dostal has a better track record in recent memory. Just last season, the Ducks puckstopper finished the year top-10 in Goals Saved Above Expected. This is also the first time Dostal has had a save percentage lower than .900 in his career.

The Oilers have the offense to keep Dostal honest, and potentially rattle the young netminder. However, they will need Ingram to make big saves and keep the young Anaheim offense off their game. This series could be very high scoring, and it could come down to which goaltender makes the fewest mistakes.

The Oilers cannot afford more inconsistency in net. However, they have to work with what they have. If there is anything that will derail Edmonton in the postseason, it will likely be their goaltending.

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