2026 WHL Playoffs Preview: 1) Prince Albert Raiders Versus 6) Saskatoon Blades
The top-seeded Prince Albert Raiders will take on the sixth-seeded Saskatoon Blades in the second round. While Prince Albert picked up their first-round series win in Game 5, Saskatoon went the distance as they punched their ticket to the second round via a Game 7 overtime victory. As for the season series, the Raiders dominated, going 6-1-1-0 against the Blades.
Prince Albert enters this season having outscored Saskatoon 8-0 in their last two meetings. In fact, the eight-game series between these two featured three shutouts, with the Blades recording a 4-0 win back in January. Overall, it should be a tense series as these two division rivals do not like each other.
2026 WHL Playoffs Stats
Playoff Records:
- Prince Albert Raiders: 4-1-0
- Saskatoon Blades: 4-1-2
Goals For/Against
- Prince Albert Raiders: 21 GF, 10 GA
- Saskatoon Blades: 21 GF, 21 GA
Power Play:
- Prince Albert Raiders: 25%
- Saskatoon Blades: 18.5%
Penalty Kill:
- Prince Albert Raiders: 69.2%
- Saskatoon Blades: 66.7%
Leading Scorers:
Prince Albert Raiders:
- Brock Cripps: 5 GP 3 G 5 A 8 P
- Daxon Rudolph: 5 GP 3 G 4 A 7 P
- Brayden Dube: 5 GP 2 G 5 A 7 P
- Braeden Cootes: 5 GP 2 G 4 A 6 P
- Aiden Oiring: 5 GP 1 G 4 A 5 P
Saskatoon Blades:
- Hunter Laing: 7 GP, 3 G, 5 A, 8 P
- David Lewandowski: 7 GP, 3 G, 5 A, 8 P
- Rowan Calvert: 7 GP, 2 G, 5 A, 7 P
- Tristen Doyle: 7 GP, 1 G, 5 A, 6 P
- Tyler Parr: 7 GP, 3 G, 2 A, 5 P
Goaltenders:
Prince Albert Raiders:
- Michal Orsulak: 4-1-0, .891 SV%
Saskatoon Blades:
- Evan Gardner: 4-1-2, .916 SV%
Series Schedule
- Game 1: @ Prince Albert— Friday, April 10, 7:00 PM ST
- Game 2: @ Prince Albert— Saturday, April 11, 7:00 PM ST
- Game 3: @ Saskatoon — Tuesday, April 1, 7:00 PM ST
- Game 4: @ Saskatoon— Wednesday, April 15, 7:00 PM ST
- Game 5*: @ Prince Albert— Friday, April 17, 7:00 PM ST
- Game 6*: @ Saskatoon— Sunday, April 19, 4:00 PM ST
- Game 7*: @ Prince Albert— Tuesday, April 21, 7:00 PM ST
Saskatoon Blades vs Prince Albert Raiders (Photo Credit: Steve Hiscock/Saskatoon Blades/WHL)Make sure you bookmark THN's WHL site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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