Oil Kings and Blades Meet in Game One of 2026 Playoffs
WHL Edmonton Oil Kings

Oil Kings and Blades Meet in Game One of 2026 Playoffs

Published on March 27, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Edmonton Oil Kings News Release


Edmonton, Alta. - It's that time of year! The WHL Playoffs kick off tonight, and in Edmonton, the Oil Kings host the Saskatoon Blades for game one of their first round series.

The Oil Kings are the third seed in the WHL's Eastern Conference after finishing the regular season at 45-18-3-2, including winning nine of their last 11 games to cap off the regular season. The Oil Kings also feature two top-15 scorers in Lukas Sawchyn, whose 88 points were tied for seventh in WHL scoring, and Miroslav Holinka, whose 80 points were 15th. Holinka's 37 goals were tied for 11th in the league, while Sawchyn's 61 assists were third in the WHL. Edmonton's defenders can also score too with Ethan MacKenzie and his 22 goals, and Carter Sotheran and his 72 points leading the way.

Edmonton was the fourth in the league in goals for with 287, and fifth in goals against with 205.

On the other side, the Saskatoon Blades finished the year as the sixth seed in the WHL's Eastern Conference with a 34-27-5-2 record. They lost back-to-back 4-0 games against Prince Albert to end the season but had won four of the previous five prior to the final weekend of the year. Saskatoon's biggest strength is in net with Evan Gardner who was one of the WHL's busiest netminders this year, playing the fourth most minutes, facing the fifth-most shots, while winning 25 games and holding a .902 save percentage.

Saskatoon was 10th best in the WHL in goals against with 224, and 16th in goals for with 220.

In the regular season series, the Oil Kings were 3-1-0-0, outscoring the Blades 17-11. Ethan MacKenzie was the leader offensively with four goals and four assists for eight points against Saskatoon. Edmonton Oilers draft pick David Lewandowski led the Blades with four points in four games.

This will mark the first time in Oil Kings modern franchise history that they have met the Blades in a WHL Playoff series. However, in the 1960's and 1970's, the WCHL's Edmonton Oil Kings met the Blades in three playoff series before the Oil Kings moved to Portland to become the Winterhawks.

Both the Oil Kings and the Blades made the 2025 WHL Playoffs, but did bow out in the first round. Edmonton fell in a hard-fought, seven game series with the Prince Albert Raiders. Saskatoon was swept by the Calgary Hitmen.

Edmonton is 17-6-1 all-time in game one's of playoff series'.

Puck drop from Rogers Place is 7 p.m. tonight.

Check out the Edmonton Oil Kings Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from March 27, 2026


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