6 Must-See Oilers Games of the 2026-27 Season – The Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers

On Thursday (July 16), the NHL released its 2026-27 schedule. The season begins on Sept. 29, 2026, and runs until April 10, 2027.

Each NHL team will play 84 games, an increase from the 82-game schedule that the league had been using since 1995-96.

That’s a lot of hockey to watch, even for the most diehard fans. But if the Oilers are your team, here are five games that you absolutely won’t want to miss in 2026-27.

Oilers vs. Canucks – September 29

Edmonton begins its 47 NHL season at Rogers Place on Sept. 29, 2026, when the Oilers host the Vancouver Canucks in a meeting of two longtime division rivals.

This will be the Oilers’ first ever regular season game in the month of September. Before this year, the earliest date for Edmonton’s season-opening game was Oct. 1, which they played on in 1997, 1999, and 2013.

Edmonton went 3-0-1 against the Canucks last season, including 2-0 at home. The Oilers concluded their 2025-26 schedule by defeating Vancouver score of 6-1 at Rogers Centre on April 16, 2026, which tied for their largest margin of victory at home last season.

Oilers at Ducks – October 7

The first of four meetings during the 2026-27 season between the Oilers and Anaheim Ducks takes place at Honda Center on Oct. 7, 2026, as the teams renew acquaintances after facing off in Round 1 the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Anaheim eliminated the Oilers in six games last spring, ending Edmonton’s two-year reign as Western Conference champs. It was an alarming result in Oil Country, as the veteran Oilers simply couldn’t handle the upstart Ducks.

Pretty much every move Edmonton has made during the offseason is informed by that loss to Anaheim, and fans won’t have to wait long to see how this latest edition of the Oilers matches up against the Ducks, who are a team on the rise in the Western Conference.

Oilers at Capitals – December 28

Rumours ran rampant that 2025-26 was the final season in the storied career of Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin, the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer. But on July 2, Ovechkin signed a one-year deal with the Capitals, agreeing to return for an incredible 22^nd season in Washington.

This time around, it really could be the last time Ovechkin, who will turn 41 in September before the 2026-27 season starts. And if that’s the case, the final regular season meeting between Ovie and Oilers superstar Connor McDavid will take place at Capital One Arena on December 28, 2026 (The Caps will make their lone visit of the season to Rogers Place on Dec. 3, 2026).

McDavid has fantastic career numbers against the Capitals, racking up 11 goals and 21 assists in 17 games. Ovechkin, meanwhile, has totalled 18 goals and 12 assists over 30 career games against the Oilers.

Oilers vs. Sharks – January 13

Darnell Nurse, who the Oilers traded to the San Jose Sharks on July 1, makes his first return to Edmonton on Jan. 13, 2027, when he visits Rogers Place with his new team.

While his massive contract made him a somewhat controversial figure in recent years, Nurse gave his heart and soul to the Oilers and put his roots down in the community. Drafted seventh overall in 2013, Nurse is one of the top blueliners in franchise history, ranking second in games played, second in goals, fifth in assists and fifth in points on Edmonton’s all-time leaderboard for defencemen.

This won’t be the first time that the Oilers see their ex-teammate, however. That will happen just five games into their schedule, when Edmonton visits the Sharks at SAP Center on Oct. 10.

Oilers at Flames – March 23

The Olympic Saddledome (now known as the Scotiabank Saddledome) has been home to the Calgary Flames since the start of the 1983-84 season. Over those 43 years, the Oilers have played at the downtown Cowtown venue 125 times in the regular season and 15 times in the playoffs, while often making a visit each year during the pre-season as well.

Some of the most memorable games in arguably hockey’s greatest rivalry took place at the Saddledome, especially during the 1980s when the Oilers and Flames would go to war with each other nearly every spring.

The Flames are set to move into Scotia Place for the 2027-28 season, which means that March 23, 2027, will be the Oilers’ last time ever playing in the Saddledome (barring a playoff edition of the Battle of Alberta, of course). Edmonton will make its second-to-last regular season game at the Saddledome on March 3, 2027.

Oilers vs. Jets – April 10

Often, Edmonton’s final game of the regular season has been meaningless as far as the standings are concerned. By Game No. 82, the Oilers would be locked into their playoff seed, and as such, many of their top players would be given the night off.

But that wasn’t the case last year, when the Oilers went into their final game with the possibility of finishing anywhere from second to fourth in the Pacific Division. It was their most important regular season finale in many years, and they stepped up by blowing out the Canucks to clinch second place.

Given the competitiveness of the Pacific Division, and the fact that all 32 teams are playing on the final date of the schedule, there could again be a lot on the line when the Oilers host the Winnipeg Jets in their regular season finale on April 10, 2027.

Let the countdown begin. It may be the dog days of summer in Edmonton, but the Oilers’ 2026-27 season is just two and a half months away.