The Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers were two of the league's more successful teams in the 1980s and 1990s. However, their paths didn't cross much when they were contenders.
It seemed like the Oilers were entering a favorable period after the Canadiens came down from one. Then, the Canadiens had a renaissance after Wayne Gretzky left for Los Angeles.
The Canadiens have a 48-54-4-1 record against the Oilers in their history. They have only met once in the postseason, which came in the first round in 1981. The Canadiens lost that series at the hands of a sweep from Gretzky and the Oilers.
The Canadiens' greatest success against the Oilers was in the late 1980s when they won five consecutive games. Nevertheless, it has always been a tight battle when these teams play.
Canadiens-Oilers recent history
The history of tight games continued last season, when the Canadiens took the Oilers to overtime in both matchups. The teams didn't play until the Oilers were in the middle of their hot streak, so the Canadiens keeping the games close as a lottery team was impressive.
Connor McDavid opened the scoring in their most recent game, before Adam Henrique added to the scoring in the second period. It took until the third period for the Canadiens to find the scoresheet, with Nick Suzuki and Kaiden Guhle finding the net within a four minute span.
The comeback came up short in overtime when the Oilers received a powerplay. The Oilers' firepower was too much to overcome, as Leon Draisaitl connected on McDavid's 82nd assist of the season to score the winner.
Samuel Montembeault took the loss in net, allowing three goals on 32 shots. Meanwhile, Calvin Pickard was the goaltender for the Oilers, facing just 25 attempts.
It's always an important day when McDavid visits a Canadian city, especially as it happens just once a year for the Eastern Conference. The 2024-25 season will see McDavid's visit on November 18, 2024, while the Canadiens visit Edmonton on March 6, 2025