Oilers and Panthers meet again, in different situations

Edmonton hasn't been much better than the Panthers, just luckier

Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The last two NHL seasons have ended the same way, even if not after the exact same number of games: with the Florida Panthers celebrating a championship and the Edmonton Oilers wondering what hit them.

This season will not end that way.

Only one of those teams will make the playoffs, and it's the one that came up short in the last two Stanley Cup Finals: the Oilers, led by Connor McDavid. The Panthers will not, a fate sealed by losing the past two games after a brief revival.

Thursday, they meet again, this time in Edmonton, for the second and final time this regular season. In this season's prior meeting, way back in November, the Oilers prevailed 6-3. The Panthers were without Sasha Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk in that meeting, and are still without Barkov -- and while Tkachuk is back, Brad Marchand and Sam Reinhart are now out.

It's been that sort of season for Florida, one setback after another, perhaps the reality of three straight runs to the Finals, one loss to two wins, which taxed this group mentally, emotionally and physically. Those brutal series against Edmonton, brutal because of the competition on the ice but also the miles in the air, likely played some role.

But the biggest problem Florida has faced hasn't been all the absences; it's been its location, and the fact that in its conference, there was no room for error this season.

The Western Conference has been more forgiving, and that's why the Oilers -- who have actually lost one more game than they've won, including the overtime losses -- are so much better positioned than the Panthers, who have done the same. Edmonton has 77 points in 69 games, and the Panthers have 69 points in 67 games, but the Oilers are safely positioned 2nd in the Pacific Division, eight points clear of the spot just out of the wild card, while the Panthers are 13 points out of a wild card spot in the East.

Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The Oilers have had their own share of injuries, though none until now as devastating as the one suffered by forward Leon Draisaitl, who was just declared out for the rest of the regular season with a lower body ailment. Draisaitl is second on the Oilers behind McDavid with 35 goals and 62 assists for 97 points. Another center, Mattias Janmark, is also out for the season.

If Draisaitl returns for the playoffs, and Edmonton makes another run, the Panthers won't be in the way this time. But with Florida healing and reloading, there's a chance they see each other in a pressurized situation again someday.