VIDEO: Oilers Outlast Ducks

Photo: AP

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks continued their road trip against the Edmonton Oilers. Mason McTavish(lower body) and Max Jones(lower body) were both placed on the IR. The Ducks recalled Sam Carrick and Sonny Milano from San Diego. Anthony Stolarz was in net against Mike Smith.

Recap:

The Ducks would get on the board first. Trevor Zegras would find a streaking Kevin Shattenkirk, who roofed the puck over Smith. The lead would not last long as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins would find Zack Kassian at the side of the Anaheim net for an easy tap in goal.

Anaheim almost took the lead, but Zegras was denied by Smith at point blank range. The Oilers would come the other way in the next sequence and Connor McDavid would beat Stolarz low to give the Oilers a 2-1 lead.

The Ducks would answer back immediately as Sam Steel would get his first goal of the season as it appeared that Smith misplayed the puck.

Anaheim would then get called for two penalties at the same time, giving the Oilers a 5-on-3 power play for a full two minutes. Leon Draisaitl would score to give the Oilers a 3-2 lead at the end of the first period.

In the middle frame, the Ducks would score two goals to regain the lead. Nicolas Deslauriers would get the puck at the side of the net and somehow shot it between the post and Smith’s arm. About a minute later, Steel would then get his second of the night as he took the puck from his forehand to his backhand to beat Smith. Anaheim lead 4-3 after two periods.

The Oilers would tie up the game at the beginning of 3rd period. Zack Kassian redirected a puck past Stolarz on the power play. Evan Bouchard would then get credit on the Oilers next goal as a pass was deflected towards Stolarz causing the puck to his side and bounce in the net behind him.

Leon Draisaitl would add an empty net goal with about a minute left to make it a 6-4 game. Shatternkirk would score in the final seconds of the game to make it a 6-5 final.

Team News/Stats:

Sam Steel scored two goals in his season debut.

Kevin Shattenkirk also scored twice in this game. He leads the team in scoring with three goals and is tied for the league lead among defensemen in goals scored. He also has a four game point streak.

Analysis:

The Ducks had trouble scoring while playing at even strength with just two goals in the their first three games. In this contest all five of their goals came while playing 5-on-5. Anaheim was playing a high pace game, but so where the Oilers.

The Ducks into penalty trouble in this contest as they were called for six penalties. They were called for two penalties at the same time late in the first period giving the Oilers a full two minute 5-on-3 power play. Edmonton scored on that power play and another one later in the game.

A few bounces also didn’t go the Ducks way in this game. The Bouchard goal was critical because it made the game 5-4 in favor of Edmonton at that time. If that weird play doesn’t occur, then maybe the game could have headed to overtime.

Going forward, one thing the Ducks do need to work on getting more shots on net and blocking opponents shots. They hold the worst shot differential in the league at -43. Edmonton only had more shot on goal in this contest, but in the first three games the Ducks have been outshot by an average of over 11 shots. The Ducks give up 39.3 shots against per game, which is the second highest in the league.

What’s Next?

The Ducks face the Winnipeg Jets this Thursday at 5 PM PT.

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October 19th, 2021