The Edmonton Oilers breezed through Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, beating the Los Angeles Kings 4-1. Game 2 was their lone defeat in the series which, despite playing poorly for large portions, they only lost in overtime after Anze Kopitar beat Stuart Skinner. Now, for the third year in a row, the Oilers are off to Round 2 and looking to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2022.

Waiting in their path are the Vancouver Canucks. That Round 2 matchup against their Western Canadian rivals gets underway this upcoming week after the Canucks beat the Nashville Predators in six games. This series is the third time Edmonton and Vancouver have gone head-to-head in the postseason with the last being 1992.

“The first round grade is an A+,” said Frank Seravalli on Oilersnation Everyday following the Oilers Round 1 series win. “Was it always pretty? No. Were there tense moments? Sure it’s the playoffs. However, did they absolutely the Los Angeles Kings? Did they hammer on special teams? Did they not open the door for them to make it a long series? Without a doubt.”

“We learned things about many players along the way too,” continued Frank Seravalli. “Stuart Skinner, you told us something Game 3, 4 and 5. Evander Kane, after a shaky season, you showed us something. There’s a lot to feel good about heading into Round 2.”

Throughout the regular season, the Canucks had the Oilers number. Vancouver won all four games, with the most recent coming on April 13th; however, Edmonton was without Connor McDavid that night. The other three defeats came earlier in the season when the Oilers were a shell of themselves.

Now, it’s time for the Oilers to prove they’ve matured and they aren’t that team anymore. They showed great signs of maturity in Round 1 with great discipline, dominating the special teams and a huge bounce-back from Stuart Skinner in the latter half of the series.

“The Canucks have a little bit of mojo to them,” said Frank Seravalli. “They’ve had some crazy comebacks. They’ve had a leads in their series with Elias Pettersson struggling. However, they’re a one and a half line team right now that needs a lot more.”

In Round 1, the Oilers did a great job of exposing the Kings’ weakness between the pipes. They never chased Cam Talbot from the net during the camp, but did force a goaltending switch heading into Game 4. Even with David Rittich between the pipes, it didn’t matter with the Oilers winning the next two.

The big story in Vancouver is also goaltending with Thatcher Demko likely missing Game 1. The Oilers need to show that maturity and experience early in the series exploiting that weakness in goal right away. There’s no denying that Casey DeSmith and Arturs Silovs have done a great job so far, but let’s not pretend the Oiler’s and Predators’ offences are comparable.

Edmonton learned a lot about themselves versus the Kings. Their goaltending can carry them to wins, their powerplay can still dominate in the playoffs, and they’re deeper than they’ve ever been before. Here’s to hoping Frank Seravalli gives the team another A+ grade in a couple of weeks’ time following Round 2.