Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid didn’t participate in the morning skate ahead of Thursday’s must-win Game 6 for his team, but coach Kris Knoblauch said only centre Jason Dickinson was a game-time decision in Anaheim.
The Ducks lead the best-of-seven, first-round playoff series 3-2 with a chance to oust the Oilers, who reached the Stanley Cup final each of the last two years.
Anaheim is a win away from winning their first playoff series since 2017 when the Ducks beat Edmonton in seven games in the second round.
McDavid rolled his right ankle in the second period of Game 2 when he collided with teammate Mattias Ekholm. The 29-year-old continued to play, but appeared uncomfortable at times after that.
Knoblauch had dubbed his captain a game-time decision ahead of Tuesday’s 4-1 win in Edmonton to extend the series.
McDavid had two assists in 24 minutes of ice time and said post-game, “there was never a doubt” he would play.
McDavid led the NHL in post-season points three of the last four years.
After he was held off the scoresheet in the first two games of the series, McDavid had a goal and five assists in the next three.
Dickinson scored twice in the series opener when he also went down in pain after a faceoff with a lower-body injury.
He returned to the lineup for Game 4 and assisted on Edmonton’s first goal of that game.
After reaching the Stanley Cup final each of the last two years before bowing out to the Florida Panthers both times, the Oilers faced early elimination in the 2026 post-season, down three games to two to the Anaheim Ducks in the first round.
“We weren’t playing our best hockey to start the series, and other factors that contributed to this, but it’s not something we thought we’d be in,” Edmonton’s head coach Kris Knoblauch said.
“Definitely going into the series, it’s definitely something we should have known [was] a possibility of happening just because Anaheim is a good team. They’ve got a lot of good players. Yes, it is their first time here with this group, but they’ve got a lot of good threats. They’re a good team, and they’re putting us to the brink of elimination.”
The Oilers, who scored the first goal in each of the first five games of the series, finally held off the Ducks’ patented late-game surge in Game 5 in a 4-1 victory to avoid elimination.
The Ducks led the NHL in comeback wins (26) and third-period comeback wins (12) in the regular season.
The Oilers were up 2-0 after one period in Game 1, and won 4-3. Edmonton also led 2-0 after the first 20 minutes of Game 4, only to lose 4-3 in overtime.
“You’re not going to be as aggressive five seconds into the game as you are down two goals in the third period, but from a mentality standpoint, for sure you can play on your toes a lot more, be a lot more aggressive in certain areas without selling out,” Ducks defenceman John Carlson explained Thursday morning.
“The players are too good now. You can’t really even sell out in the third period as much without giving up two-on-ones any time there’s a little bobble of the puck, but you can take some thoughts, some tactics from when we are down and try to apply them right away, and hopefully give a little extra added boost. That’s why we get to control what we can control, and that’s to come out and have a good start.”
Anaheim wasn’t able to overcome a 3-0 deficit after the first period of Game 5 in a 4-1 loss, but did outshoot Edmonton 24-8 over the second and third periods as the Oilers leaned heavily on goalie Connor Ingram.
“Usually you score the first goal, you win,” Oilers forward Zach Hyman said. “Hasn’t been the case, obviously, entirely this series, but it’s important to get out to good starts.
“It’s important to get ahead, especially as the series goes on, the games get tighter. Every goal is extremely important.”
With the last change in Game 5 in Edmonton, McDavid and Leon Draisaitl played the most minutes together this series on the same line. Draisaitl scored twice, and McDavid had two assists.
“They’re two of the biggest threats in the league, and there’s so much attention to them, whether they’re alone or together,” Carlson said.
“From that standpoint, it’s not like you’re looking for something different per se, but different situations present themselves when they’re both on the ice versus not, but like we’ve talked about all along, there’s no real one-on-ones against those guys.
“It’s a group effort and certainly that much more emphasis on it when they’re both on the ice.”
