Edmonton Oilers crash out of playoffs as Ducks dominate series and expose season-long struggles

Edmonton Oilers were knocked out of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Thursday night after a 5-2 defeat to the Anaheim Ducks in Game 6 of their first-round series.

The loss ended a disappointing season for Edmonton, who entered the campaign with championship expectations after consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances.

“We were an average team all year,” captain Connor McDavid said after the game.

“An average team with high expectations, you’re going to be disappointed”, e added.

Anaheim controlled much of the series with their speed and aggressive play scoring eight goals from 16 power-play opportunities across the six games.

“That's a real hockey team over there. They have some good players. But at the end of the day we’ve got to find ways to keep the puck out of our net,” said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

McDavid admitted Edmonton struggled to match Anaheim’s pace. “They played very fast and we weren’t very fast,” he said.

The Oilers also battled injuries throughout the playoffs, with McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and several other key players playing through fitness problems.

“At the end of the day they were just better than us,” Draisaitl said adding: “In my opinion, just not good enough.”