Dickinson, Kapanen each score 2 as the Oilers defeat the Ducks in Game 1

Jason Dickinson and Kasperi Kapanen each scored a pair of goals to help the Oilers take Game 1 of the first round against the Anaheim Ducks in Edmonton on Monday night.

The meeting marked the first time the Ducks had played in the playoffs since 2017-18, while it was also the first time the Oilers hadn’t opened the playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings since the 2020-21 modified COVID season.

The Oilers entered the game as the second-best team in the Pacific Division with a 41-30-11 record, while the Ducks entered as the third seed with a 43-33-6 record.

Fans in Edmonton began lining up early in the day to get their spot in the Ice District Plaza for the Game 1 watch party.

One of the biggest questions for the Oilers heading into the game was whether Leon Draisaitl would be able to make his return to the lineup since being injured on March 15, and that question was answered in the warmups as the superstar was able to take the ice.

The game started with good end-to-end action on both sides of the ice, and the Ducks thought they opened the scoring midway through the first as Tim Washe jammed home a rebound; however, the goal was called off as Washe had backed into Oilers netminder Connor Ingram prior to putting the puck into the net.

Jason Dickinson got the first goal of the series, making it 1-0 for the Oilers with just under three minutes left in the first after he broke into the Ducks’ zone, cut across the crease, faking out Lukas Dostal, and buried the puck into the net.

Kasperi Kapanen would double the Oilers’ lead exactly a minute after Dickinson’s goal, scoring off a rebound that came from a turnover in the Ducks’ zone.

KASPERI KAPANEN STRIKES A MINUTE LATER TO GIVE THE OILERS A 2-0 LEAD ???? pic.twitter.com/dAgSo9owJO

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 21, 2026

Right off the opening faceoff to start the second period, the Ducks brought the puck into the Oilers’ end, and Troy Terry fired the puck past Ingram to cut the lead in half, 19 seconds into the period.

At the 4:38 mark of the second period, the Ducks regathered possession following a dump into the Oilers’ zone, and Leo Carlsson would score on a rebound, making it 2-2.

Seconds into a late second-period power play, Terry would score a laser of a wrister past Ingram with help from a screen from Cris Krieder. The goal would be Terry’s second of the period, giving the Ducks a 3-2 lead.

Just beyond the midway point of the third period, Mattias Ekholm charged into the Ducks’ zone and fired a low, hard slapshot that got saved by Dostal’s pad and bounced to Dickinson, who scored his second goal of the game, tying the game 3-3.

In the final minutes of the third period, the Oilers were buzzing in the Ducks’ zone. Vasily Podkolzin received a pass from Leon Draisaitl behind the net and sent a pass into the slot, finding Kapanen, who would one-time the puck past Dostal for his second of the game, giving the Oilers a 4-3 with 1:54 left in the game.

KASPERI KAPANEN IS THE GAME 1 HERO ????‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/leCV2UTywd

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 21, 2026

Sportsnet analyst Elliott Friedman noted on ‘X’ that the game marked the first time all season that the Oilers won a game with McDavid not registering a point.

The Oilers will host the Ducks in Game 2 at Rogers Place at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22.