GDB 34.0 Wrap Up: Oilers cruise past Ducks for fifth consecutive win

The Edmonton Oilers are heading into the year 2024 on a positive note.

Fresh off of a comeback win over the Kings in Los Angeles on Saturday night, the Oilers rolled into Anaheim and pounded the Ducks by a score of 7-2. The win was Edmonton’s fifth in a row and it capped off a three-game sweep of their California road trip.

Ryan McLeod opened the scoring for the Oilers under five minutes into the game, Max Jones tied the score at 1-1 shortly after, and Evander Kane put Edmonton back on top before the end of the frame. The Oilers ran away with the game in the second period with a goal from Leon Draisaitl and two from Warren Foegele and then Zach Hyman and Brett Kulak added to the lead in the third. Calvin Pickard turned aside 28 of 30 shots for his third win of the season with the Oilers.

Warren Foegele was the star of the game for the Oilers. His two goals in the second period helped Edmonton pull away and he also added three assists to reach a career-high with five points in a single game. It was also the first time an Oiler had put up five points at even strength in a game since Sam Gagner did so in his eight-point game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Ryan McLeod opened the scoring for the Oilers a few minutes into the first period with his seventh goal in just over a month. He didn’t score his first goal of the season until his 22nd game and McLeod has seven goals in 13 games since then.

Zach Hyman buried his 21st goal of the season in the third period to extend the team’s lead. He’s set career-highs in goals in back-to-back seasons since signing with the Oilers and it appears that’ll be the case again this year. Hyman scored 27 goals in 2021-22, improved to 36 goals in 2022-23, and he’s on pace for 51 goals this year.

Calvin Pickard picked up his third win for the Oilers with 28 saves on 30 shots. He now has a 0.904 save percentage across six appearances, a solid performance for a third-string goaltender who was called up a couple of months into the season.

The win puts the Oilers at 18-15-1 on the season, a very formidable record considering how things went during the first month. They’ll head home and host the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday and then they’ll be off for a few days before hosting the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.