Ducks Fall Short To The Oilers

Photo: AP

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks traveled to Edmonton for Games 1 and 2 of their series against the Oilers. Lukas Dostal was in net against Connor Ingram

The Ducks appeared to score about halfway through the first period, but the goal was waved off. Tim Washe got the puck in front of the net and  got it past Ingram, but he bumped him while he was in the crease.

The Oilers then scored two goals within about a minute of each other. Jason Dickinson scored a breakaway awaiting Dostal before scoring. Kasperi Kapanen then scored in front. His first shot was blocked, but then he got to the rebound beating Dostal who was already down from the initial shot. Edmonton lead 2-0 after the first period.

Troy Terry scored in the opening seconds of the second period to get Anaheim on the board. Terry got to a rebound and scored at the far post before Ingram could slide over to cover.

Leo Carlsson would then tied up the game about four minutes later. He got to a rebound in the slot and scored into the open net.

Terry gave the Ducks the lead with just over five minutes in the period. He scored on the power play through a screen. Anaheim led 3-2 after two periods.

The Oilers tied the game just past the halfway point of the third period. Radko Gudas fell while defending the rush giving open ice for Mattias Ekholm‘s initial shot. Dostal stopped the shot, but the rebound came to Dickinson who scored in the open net.

Kapenen scored from the slot with just under two minutes to go to give the Oilers the lead for good. The Ducks pulled Dostal in the final minutes, but couldn’t score and lost 4-3.

Analysis:

The Ducks initially had a good start to this contest and appeared to take the lead until the goal was called back for goalie interference. The Oilers then scored twice and led 2-0 after the opening 20 minutes.

Anaheim had a fantastic second period scoring three times to pull ahead by one after two periods. Edmonton was able to tie the game up and it looked like this contest might be heading to overtime, but the Oilers scored again to pull out a win in the final minutes.

For their first playoff game in eight years, the Ducks played well, but just came up short. They looked a little nervous at first and found themselves down 2-0 early, but they responded well afterward. They played discipline hockey only giving the Oilers two power plays and they kept them off the board. The Ducks scored once in their two power play attempts.

Anaheim was able to contain Connor McDavid and keep off the score sheet. The Oilers went 0-12-2 during the regular season when he failed to register at least a point.

The Ducks had the lead to start the third period and were 24-1-1 in those situations during the regular season. Anaheim did sit on the lead to start the final period and eventually it came back to bit them. The game tying goal was unfortunate because Gudas blew a flat tire giving the Oilers a 2-on-1 scoring chance. There also appeared to be a missed call against the Oilers for too many men on ice just prior to that goal. The Ducks also didn’t cover well defensively on the eventual game winning goal for Edmonton.

Anaheim nearly tied the game in the final moments, but Mikael Granlund‘s shot at an open next was partially blocked.

This game was filled with momentum swings and unfortunately the final swing was in favor of Edmonton. The Ducks did well in many aspects of this game. They do need to cleanup their turnovers and limit the odd man rushes being given up.

Team Notes/Stats:

Leo Carlsson and Troy Terry became the second and third Ducks players with multiple points in their playoff debuts. Paul Kariya did it the 1997 playoffs. Both looked great and carried this team offensively.

What’s Next?

The Ducks face the Oilers Wednesday at 7PM.

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April 20th, 2026