This week, the Edmonton Oilers begin their first extended road trip of the season, and there is no better place to begin this California trip than the Honda Center against the team that eliminated them last spring.

Edmonton’s lineup, while still depleted, does appear to be getting Jason Dickinson back in Anaheim. Dickinson had a great playoff series last April in the few games he was able to play, while nursing the ankle injury that has kept him out to start this season. He and the rest of the team ought to be ready to deliver on Wednesday night after three days off and an opportunity to exact some revenge against the young Ducks club for the first time. Let’s dive into how Anaheim has looked to begin their season.

The Ducks are undefeated

While Anaheim has only played two games, they have managed to pick up a couple of wins against what are expected to be very good teams. After the chaotic, noisy offseason they had, they began their season with wins against Vegas in regulation and in overtime against Florida. Neither was necessarily pretty, as they took a 4-0 lead against the Golden Knights, then barely hung on, winning 4-3, followed by giving up a tying goal to the Panthers with less than two minutes remaining before securing the win late in OT.

Their big contracts are paying off

Over the offseason, Anaheim navigated the largest offer sheet of all time, matching the Philadelphia Flyers’ five-year, $90 million offer on Leo Carlsson. They also gave massive contracts to Cutter Gauthier (six years, $81 million - $13.5-million AAV), Tristan Luneau (six years, $43.2 million - $7.1-million AAV), and Pavel Mintyukov (five years, $36 million - $7.2-million AAV). Entering the season, Luneau had played 14 NHL games. Of all the major contracts signed in recent memory, this one signifies the beginning of a new era in roster structure and retention more than any other, with general managers look to bank on signing players to term early, at huge cap hits with the hopes that they blossom and exceed the value of their deals later on as the salary cap skyrockets.

Under the spotlight of their cap hits, these players have shown well in the first two games. Carlsson and Gauthier are providing the offence so far with five and four points each.

On the back end, the bet on Luneau is paying off thus far as he has chipped in an assist and is playing almost 27 minutes a night through two games. Mintyukov has been held pointless while skating 20:30 a night.

These two, along with bona fide number one defenceman Jackson LaCombe, will carry the Ducks’ weak blue line.

In net

Lukas Dostal has started both games to start the year for the Ducks and is likely to start this playoff rematch after two days off. Although it is very early, his performances have been sharp, with the Czech netminder having compiled a .918 save percentage and a 1.9 goals saved above expected to this point.

Veteran Ville Husso remains Dostal’s backup.

Special teams

After not registering a power-play goal on two chances to begin their season against Vegas, the Ducks’ man advantage came to life Sunday against Florida, picking up three goals on four attempts. Certainly something for Edmonton to be aware of as the Oilers’ penalty kill continues their cold play from last spring, ranking 31st in the league after three games.

The Ducks’ penalty kill ranks in the middle of the pack, 14th, but they have taken seven penalties through two games, and Edmonton’s power play needs to strike if Anaheim continues their march to the penalty box.

Both teams have had similar starts to the year as they have been shaky at times but have still found ways to pick up points. These teams are rested and should be amped. Let’s renew the rivalry.

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