Oilers clinch playoff berth with win over Avalanche

Evander Kane netted a hat trick as the Edmonton Oilers punched their postseason ticket for the third consecutive season with a 6-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Friday.

The Oilers can finish no higher than second in the Pacific Division because their provincial rivals, the Calgary Flames, clinched first place Thursday. The Flames lead the second-place Oilers by eight points with four games to go, and Calgary holds the tiebreaker with six more regulation wins.

Edmonton improved to 46-26-6 on the season.

The Winnipeg Jets swept the Oilers out of the first round in the 2021 campaign, and the Chicago Blackhawks upset Edmonton in four games of a best-of-five series in the 2020 qualifying round.

The Oilers haven't advanced past the first round since bowing out in the next stage in 2016-17, and they haven't gotten past the second round since losing the Stanley Cup Final in 2005-06.