Well, that was ugly.
On Sunday afternoon, the Edmonton Oilers played the second game of a back-to-back, facing off against the Anaheim Ducks for the first time this season. Despite leading twice in the game, the Oilers fell 5-3.
The Oilers took the lead just over eight minutes into the game, as Leon Draisaitl scored on a one-timer on the power play, albeit not from his office this time.
About three minutes later, the Oilers took a 2-0 lead thanks to Evan Bouchard’s seventh goal of the season, as Viktor Arvidsson stepped out of the box and passed it over to the defenceman.
With six minutes left in the first period, Cutter Gauthier scored to cut the lead in half, but the Oilers restored their lead midway through the second period as Draisaitl scored his second of the game, once again on the power play.
You’d think that the Oilers, one of the best teams in the National Hockey League, would be able to close out a 3-1 lead against the Ducks, one of the worst teams in the league, right? Wrong. Just over three minutes later, Drew Helleson scored to make it a 3-2 game. Late in the second period, Robby Fabbri scored to tie the game.
It was another former Oiler revenge game, as Ryan Strome scored with just over two and a half minutes left to give the Ducks a late lead. An empty net goal from Mason McTavish spoiled any chance for an Oilers come back.
Takeaways…
The Oilers looked like a team playing the second game of a back-to-back. They were outshot 32-23 by the Ducks, took a ton of penalties, were outhit, and lost 60 percent of faceoffs. Still, the Ducks are one of the league’s worst teams, and this was a very winnable game.
Leon Draisaitl scored twice in this game, bringing his league-leading goal total to 26 games. He and Connor McDavid have an 11-game point streak now, as McDavid picked up the primary assists on each of Draisaitl’s power play goals.
It wasn’t a great game for backup netminder Calvin Pickard, as he allowed four goals on 31 shots for an .871 save percentage. The last time he had performed like this was in a 6-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets in early December.
Edmonton didn’t have a well-disciplined game, as they racked up 12 penalty minutes and gave the Ducks five man advantages. Thankfully, this isn’t the early-season Oilers where they couldn’t kill a penalty to save their life, but it’s hard to stay in a game when you’re always on the kill.
However, the same can be said for their power play, which has been red hot lately. It started the season cold as cucumber, but after going 2/3 in Sunday’s game, safe to say the Oilers are back to normal with the power play.
The Oilers return to action on New Year’s Eve, hosting the Utah Hockey Club for the first time in their franchise history. After two “meh” performances in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, they need a big win to end 2024.
If you enjoy my content, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.
