The Edmonton Oilers played the Anaheim Ducks for the first time since losing to them in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last season. After being tied 1-1, the Oilers had two power plays in overtime but had to settle for winning in the shootout.

Highlights

RUSSELL SCORES ON THE ODD MAN RUSH! pic.twitter.com/kgi8lDnU86

— OilersNation.com (@OilersNation) January 5, 2018

Milan Lucic makes the smart decision to send a pass up to the fastest player in the world and the Oilers head the other way three on one. Connor McDavid sends a perfectly placed pass to Kris Russell for the one-time goal.

Connor needs a goal real bad right now. pic.twitter.com/0sUwKYFT90

— OilersNation.com (@OilersNation) January 5, 2018

McDavid’s in all alone, but can’t beat John Gibson. McDavid was flying tonight, and maybe passing a bit too much in the early parts of the game, but couldn’t finish on the breakaway.

also, here's cammalleri's SO goal pic.twitter.com/qLCZ79qU6E

— Marc Majeau (@MarcMajeau) January 5, 2018

Mike Cammalleri is an interesting choice for the shootout, he is 31% in his career. Cammalleri slows it down and scores using the Paralyzer to put the Oilers up in the shootout.

By the Numbers

The Oilers got to a great start outshooting the Ducks heavily to start the game. They were able to kill an early penalty, but gave up a goal on the penalty kill early in the third period. Shot attempts were 50-46 Edmonton, so a pretty even affair. The Oilers finished with a 52.08% CF at even strength, and had a good amount of high-quality scoring chances, including a time where Ryan Getzlaf pushed Gibson into his net and they were fumbling trying to get up.

THOUGHTS…

• McDavid was flying tonight. You could say that every game, but tonight was different. He wound up and blew past many Ducks throughout the night. There was a point in the game where he held onto the puck at the blue line and kept it away from three different Anaheim players.
• The Oilers made a trade mid-game! This was super weird, normally trades don’t occur during games. Edmonton acquired Al Montoya for a conditional fourth-round draft pick. The pick becomes a fifth unless Montoya plays seven games or more. This is a bit late. The Oilers are eight points out of a playoff spot, so the time to acquire a goalie was when Talbot was injured and Brossoit was starting. Montoya has been decent the last few years, but he’s coming off a concussion and signed for another year. It’s a weird time to solve next year’s backup position.
• Edmonton won, but not in regulation. Two points is crucial for any playoff hope, but Anaheim picking up a point as well hurts. They’re eight back and they need to finish games in regulation if they want any chance.
• The Oilers penalty kill gave up a goal at home. Drink!

Source: NHL.com, Official Game Page, 01/05/2018, 10:00am MST

Epcor PSA

The weather is getting warmer so here’s another friendly Oilersnation reminder not to skate on City stormwater ponds! The flow of water underneath prevents the pond from freezing all the way through which can make for a bad time if you’re looking to play some puck.