Ducks Fly High Past The Oilers

By Michael Walters

The Ducks hosted the Edmonton Oilers as the series shifted to Anaheim for Game 3. Lukas Dostal was in net once again with Connor Ingram going for the Oilers. Anaheim went with the same lineup.

The Oilers got on the board first with a goal be Vasily Podkolzin with just under seven minutes to go in the period. Ian Moore turned over the puck to Podkozlin in the slot area and he beat Dostal with a quick wrist shot.

The Ducks tied it up a few minutes later when Mason McTavish tipped a point shot by Drew Helleson behind Ingram.

Anaheim then took the lead on the power play when a rebound came to Mikael Granlund in front and he tapped the puck in. The Ducks led 2-1 after the first period.

Edmonton tied the game early in the second period when Kasperi Kapanen scored from the right face-off circle. The Oilers added another score shortly after when Dostal couldn’t cover the puck and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins stuffed the loose puck into the net.

The Ducks tied the game with just over seven minutes to go in the second period. Granlund got to a rebound in front and found Alex Killorn with a wide open net for the score. The teams were tied at three after two periods.

Beckett Sennecke scored early in the third with a nice shot from the left circle on the rush beating Ingram glove side.

Then about 40 seconds later Leo Carlsson scored in close on a backhand with a nice move getting Ingram out of position. The Ducks led 5-3.

The Oilers got back within one a few minutes later on the power play on a questionable call against Jeffrey Viel. Connor McDavid scored from the right circle.

Viel answered back with a backhand goal of his own to make it 6-4 with about three minutes to go.

The Oilers pulled their goalie and Jackson LaCombe scored into the empty net from about the length of the ice rink.

Viel and Podkolzin dropped the gloves with about 25 seconds left to go. Ducks took this one by a 7-4 final.

Analysis:

If you like scoring and offense, then this is the playoff series for you. This was an extremely high paced and entertaining contest with 11 total goals scored and five of them alone coming in the third period.

The Ducks came out flying high with 20 shots on goal in the first period alone. Ingram made some quality saves early on and the Oilers scored first. It didn’t phase Anaheim, however, as they responded with two goals in less 90 seconds apart and had a 2-1 lead after the first period.

The Oilers answered with their equally quick strike offense getting two goals in the beginning of the second to make it a 3-2 advantage. The Ducks were able to tie it up at three before the period ended. In the final frame the Ducks scored four times to pull away and win 7-4.

The Ducks ended up outshooting the Oilers 39-24 in this contest. Anaheim posted a CF% of 59.43% and FF% of 60.47% at even strength. The Duck put up 63 shot attempts to 43 for the Oilers.

The special teams were evenly matched this contest. The Ducks scored once in three power play attempts and the Oilers scored once in their two man advantages.

The Ducks had a very balanced attack with seven goals scored by seven different players. Goals came from all four forward lines and LaCombe has the lone goal from the blue line. When you can get scoring from all over the lineup then it makes it difficult for opponents to try to get the matchups they want on the ice.

Grandlund had himself a night scoring a goal and assisting on three of the other six goals. He did score a second goal in the final minutes of the second period, but he hit the puck in with a high stick. He was all over ice this game and was in the right place at the right time throughout this contest.

Dostal didn’t have his best game. He will probably have wanted the first goal against back. He also couldn’t cover the puck which led to the Oilers third goal of the night. He needs to be sharper if the Ducks want to really knock the Oilers out of the first round and make a long playoff run.

Team Notes/Stats:

McTavish, Sennecke, Viel, and LaCombe all scored their first playoff goals in this contest.

This was the first time the Ducks scored 6+ goals in back-to back playoff games.

Anaheim scored 7 goals for the first time in a playoff game.

Ross Johnston did skate in warmups, but did not play.

Radko Gudas (lower-body) missed his second game and is listed as day-to-day.

What’s Next?

The Ducks host the Oilers for Game 4 Sunday at 6:30 PM.

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April 25th, 2026