Tonight, the Anaheim Ducks will play their first home playoff game in eight years.

Their last home playoff game was April 14th, 2018, when they lost 3-2 to San Jose in Game 2 of the opening round. They lost the next two games in a sweep and haven’t been back to the playoffs until this season.

The Honda Centre will be boisterous and the Ducks and visiting Edmonton Oilers will have no problem getting revved up for a pivotal Game 3 contest. The Oilers have won multiple big games in Los Angeles, Dallas, Vegas, Vancouver and Florida the past few postseasons and they will need at least one win, maybe two, in Anaheim to win this series.

We could twist ourselves into knots looking at reasons why the Oilers lost Game 2, but for me the reasons are obvious. Their best player had an off night, and their special teams cost them the game.

The Oilers outshot Anaheim 28-19 at five-on-five and outscored them 4-2. When you score four goals five-on-five, you should win, but the Oilers’ special teams were outscored 3-0, giving up two power play goals and an ugly shorthanded tally. Connor McDavid has earned the right not to get skewered after his egregious shorthanded giveaway, but it would be disingenuous to overlook how much it impacted the game.

The Oilers had just scored and had momentum, and giving up that goal put the Oilers down two goals again. McDavid looked a bit frustrated at times in the game and forced a few passes. You don’t see that from him very often — in fact, I can’t recall a game with that many missed passes or turnovers from the captain. I won’t dare tell the best player in the world how to play, but I’d guess his head coach and teammates will just encourage him to be himself and make the plays he’s capable of making. He doesn’t need to win the game on his own.

Since 2023 the Oilers are 9-3 in playoff games after allowing 5+ goals. They’ve shaken off a bad performance and bounced back very well most times. They need to be a goldfish.

Game 2 is over. The outcome can’t be altered and fretting about it won’t help McDavid or the Oilers. They need to move forward and manage the puck better tonight. McDavid wasn’t the only one who missed passes, but his errors stood out due to his elite ability and how he rarely has that many errant passes or turnovers in a game. He is a proud player, and McDavid has never gone three consecutive playoff games without a point in one year. In his career he has played 892 games (regular season and playoffs) and only five times has he went scoreless in three consecutive games. The likelihood of that happening again is extremely low. He will be fine.

And if he plays better the Oilers’ odds of taking a 2-1 series lead improve. Ideally the Oilers would prefer to play a more patient game. They can play run-and-gun, but they’ve played and won many playoff games playing a patient game. Anaheim hasn’t, and the Ducks can score. They prefer to play run-and-gun and so far, I think you could argue the first two games played more into Anaheim’s style, because they’ve yet to show they can play a shutdown game.

Edmonton should want to force the Ducks into that type of game and see how they handle it.

— I’ve seen many claiming the Oilers lost because they got outcoached. I just can’t wrap my head around that theory. They outshot and outscored them at five-on-five. Did coaching lead to the shorthanded goal? Was there a clear error in deployment on the penalty kill that led to two goals? I didn’t see it. But let’s look at the goals against.

While shorthanded Evan Bouchard knocks Mason McTavish off the puck, but both McTavish and the puck slide into the corner. Bouchard doesn’t have time to do much more other than rim the puck around the boards. Maybe he could have eaten it but split-second decisions with double pressure are easy to critique in hindsight. I think 90 per cent of the time D-men are rimming that puck in that situation. Alex Killorn gets to it and slides it back to Cutter Gauthier. He walks in and beats Connor Ingram from distance with Beckett Sennecke creating a screen. I asked Kevin Woodley (our goalie guru) his thoughts on the goal.

The Ducks had extended zone time and cycled the puck around the boards. They got it back to Trouba and he shot far side. When you watch the replay, the far side of the net was open. I think this is a play where your goalie can make a save, and here is Woodley’s view on the goal.

Again, I don’t see any major systemic breakdown. In the playoffs often goals come from getting pucks to the point and putting pucks on net. Killorn told me in an interview before Game 2, that the Ducks (who only had two point shots in Game 1), wanted to get more traffic and test Ingram. The first two goals were results of that.

Mattias Ekholm and Josh Samanski make the initial right play to pressure Gauthier as he enters the zone. But neither got their stick on the puck and then Gauthier’s second effort while diving to push the puck down low creates the play. Bouchard is in the right position and he knocks down the initial pass, but it ricochets off Ingram’s pad and right back to Killorn. I don’t see any great set up that led to the goal or a systemic breakdown by the Oilers.

I can tell you confidently no coach anywhere wants his players to throw a blind backhand pass across the ice in the defensive zone. McDavid rarely panics with the puck. This pass is uncharacteristic for him, but he made it. He wasn’t even under duress, which makes it even more odd. I can’t recall the last time he made a decision like this in the defensive zone on the power play.

Leo Carlsson wins the draw cleanly. The Oilers collapse properly down low and outnumber the Ducks in the slot. Jackson Lacombe’s point shot hits at least one body before reaching Ingram. He makes the save and the Oilers have boxed out the Ducks. Bouchard clears the puck, it hits Leon Draisaitl’s skate and ricochets directly to Gauthier. He has a wide-open net. In a span of two seconds Lacombe shoots the puck, it hits a body, then defects into Ingram, Bouchard clears it off Draisaitl’s skate and it goes to Gauthier. I thought the Oilers reacted well to losing the faceoff. A tad unlucky on Bouchard’s clearing attempt not only hitting Draisaitl but bouncing perfectly to Gauthier on the left side. Losing faceoffs cleanly is always dangerous, and that was the only five-on-five defensive zone faceoff loss of the game for Draisaitl.

— I just don’t buy this narrative that Knoblauch is getting outcoached. He switched his lines, back to two lines he had used in the past, in the second period and both lines scored. He swapped Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Matt Savoie, and RNH assisted on Zach Hyman’s goal in the second period, while Savoie made an unreal backtrack to strip the puck that led to Samanski’s tying goal. Edmonton has outshot and outscored the Ducks at five-on-five in both games.

Edmonton lost Game 2 on special teams. Not in their five-on-five matchups.

— In Game 2 Hyman was the only Oilers skater who had a shot share below 50 per cent and he was the only player who was outscored five-on-five (1-2). I just don’t see why people are suggesting Joel Quenneville has devised a great plan to control the play. I’ve seen claims that the Ducks’ penalty kill has figured out the Oilers’ power play. This happens every time the Oilers go a few games without a goal. It’s like everyone rushes to be the first one to claim, “they figured out the PP by doing this!” Yes, the Oilers had a few tough zone entries in Game 1, but that didn’t carry over to Game 2. Let’s recap the power plays.

First power play 3:29 into the game. McDavid wins the draw (Draisaitl had been kicked out, shockingly). The Oilers work it around for 15 seconds and McDavid moves it to RNH down low on the left side, and he moves in front just outside the top of the crease, but his backhand goes wide. Draisaitl recovers the puck on the right wall. He moves it to Bouchard, down on the left wall to McDavid and he fires a pass cross ice down low to Hyman at the top of the crease, but the pass misses him and slides around the boards out to centre. Bouchard picks it up, moves it quickly to McDavid as he skates towards the right side and he enters the zone easily. He drops it to Draisaitl who gives it to Bouchard, and he moves it back down the wall to Draisaitl. Draisaitl has time and attempts a pass to McDavid, but he misses it and it slides along the boards behind the net. Hyman gets to it, but then his pass misses RNH and bounces out to centre. Bouchard retrieves it slowly in the neutral zone, then finds Draisaitl and he skates in on the right side, he chips and chases into the corner. He battles with a few Ducks, Hyman comes in to help, and the Oilers win the puck and Draisaitl slides it back to McDavid on the right hashmarks. There are 57 seconds remaining. McDavid and Bouchard play give and go, and McDavid slides down the right side, moves it to Draisaitl in the corner. He takes a few strides and fires a pass cross crease looking for RNH coming in late and it goes off the heel of his stick wide. The puck is on the left wall, Hyman races to it, but he tries a behind the back through the leg pass to no one and the Ducks ice it and the Oilers change. Jack Roslovic  enters the zone easily, dumps the puck in and chases after it, but trips Trouba behind the net. Powerplay is over.  Oilers had zero problems on three different zone entries. They made a few errant passes when set up and missed the net on RNH’s backhand.

Second powerplay late in first period: Draisaitl wins the draw cleanly back to Bouchard. He moves to the middle of the ice, then slides it to RNH on the left side. He moves it down to McDavid, who circles behind the net and then passes to Bouchard who rips a one-timer from the top of the circle. Dostal stops it and kicks it to the left wall. RNH grabs it and moves it quickly down low to Draisaitl who skates behind the net and moves it back to McDavid on the right wall. He gives it back to Draisaitl who circles up, while Bouchard comes to the middle of the ice and McDavid slides to the left side. Draisaitl fires a hard pass cross ice to McDavid. He goes to Bouchard in the middle, down to Draisaitl on the right side, back to Bouchard and he unloads a one-timer that Tim Washe gets a stick on, and it goes wide. Oilers recover the rebound. Draisaitl moves it back to Bouchard to McDavid in the middle, back to Draisaitl on the right side and he slides it to Bouchard who rips another one-timer from the middle of the ice about 15 feet above the circles, but he misses wide on the left side. Oilers recover the puck again. McDavid and Bouchard play give-and-go and McDavid skates into the high slot and tries to pass to Draisaitl, but it hits Washe. Washe had no stick and McDavid couldn’t connect on the pass and the Ducks clear. Oilers had the puck in the zone for 50 seconds and set up three good looks before McDavid couldn’t get the pass through a stickless Washe.

Bouchard goes back for the puck. Takes a few strides and finds Draisaitl on the right wall at centre. He stops and then flicks a pass to a speeding McDavid. He flies into the zone, drives the net, puts the puck between John Carlson’s stick and skate, but Carlson turns and gets a piece of the puck to knock it in the corner. Oilers recover the puck, again. The move it back to Bouchard to RNH to Bouchard to RNH, who does down low to McDavid in the left corner. He comes out and flips a weak backhand that Dostal stops. Faceoff in left circle. With 45 seconds remaining, Oilers control the puck off the draw as Hyman slides it back to Bouchard at the left point. He goes down the wall to RNH who moves it down low in the corner to McDavid who has time, then he tries to pass to Hyman, but it hits Trouba’s stick and he ices the puck.  Bouchard goes back, he moves it up to Draisaitl at centre and once again he finds a streaking McDavid, who enters the zone cleanly makes a move in the slot and fires a shot from between the circles that Dostal stops.

Now 23 seconds remaining on PP (38 seconds in the period). A scramble off the faceoff has five players in the circle, the puck is pushed to the right corner and Hyman wins the puck battle against Trouba and pushes the puck to McDavid on the right wall. He goes back to Draisaitl up high about 10 feet outside the top of the right circle. He skates to the middle of the ice, slides it back to McDavid at the right circle, he skates to the middle of the ice, Draisaitl slides from left to right behind McDavid and is now inside the top right circle and McDavid passes to him, and Draisaitl rips a one-timer. Dostal makes a great blocker save and holds on for the whistle. Excellent save and another new twist from the Oilers’ power play.

The Oilers had three easy zone entries and created multiple good looks.

Third powerplay with 5:20 remaining in the second period: Draisaitl loses the faceoff and Pavel Mintyukov ices the puck. Bouchard goes back to retrieve it, skates a few strides and drops it to McDavid and he flies into the zone on the right side easily, he passes to Draisaitl on the boards, but the pass is behind him, he can’t handle it, and Killorn grabs the puck and ices it. Bouchard goes back to get it. This time he skates up slowly and moves it to Draisaitl standing at centre ice on the right boards. He finds McDavid flying through the middle and he glides easily into the zone and dumps it off to RNH on the left wall. He moves it to Bouchard back to RNH, but the pass is high and it bounces to Hyman who goes to McDavid, who moves it back to Bouchard at the left point. He slides to the middle of the ice, passes to McDavid on the left wall, he goes down low to RNH and he slides a pass through the crease to Hyman. He was open but couldn’t control the pass and it goes into the right corner. Oilers win another puck battle and slide it around the boards to Bouchard at the right point. He goes across to McDavid at the left point. He skates down the wall and with space his pass attempt to RNH hits the back of Washe’s stick and RNH has to race to keep it in. He rims it around the boards; McDavid can’t knock it down and the Ducks get possession. Then watch, or don’t if you prefer not to see horror again, after Granlund carries the puck up ice.

Hard to explain McDavid making that decision. It was a once-in-11-years type of play from him. The second unit PP comes out for the final 30 seconds.

Fourth powerplay with 1:08 remaining in the second: Draisaitl is kicked out of the faceoff. McDavid and Ryan Poehling engage in the faceoff. The puck bounces up in the air to the right behind McDavid and the Ducks jump on it and flip it to centre. Bouchard goes back to retrieve it, skates just inside his blueline, then comes up slowly, drops the puck to McDavid and he flies into the zone and dishes off to Draisaitl a few feet inside the blueline. Two Ducks go to Draisaitl, and he slides a pass to a wide-open Hyman who one-times the puck from just inside the right circle. Another new wrinkle from the power play as it was a set play with Hyman staying high and sliding down into the slot, rather than going directly to the net. Dostal makes the save and the Ducks clear it the length of the ice. Bouchard retrieves it with 45 seconds remaining in the period. He skates out beside the net, moves the puck to Draisaitl at centre ice. He is stationary and once again he finds McDavid in flight, and he receives the pass at centre ice and slides into the zone down the left side and moves the puck to RNH at the left point. He stands there for a second and then moves down the left wall and passes to McDavid in the corner. He crosses over and goes behind the net. He passes to Draisaitl on the right wall, back to McDavid, who goes back to Draisaitl who has moved to the bottom of the circle. and he passes back to McDavid in the right corner. He stickhandles and slides to the right dot, moves it into the corner to Draisaitl, who goes back to McDavid at the top of the right circle. He tries to thread the needle through Washe looking for Bouchard, but Washe makes an easy knock down and ices the puck. Ingram skates out to grab the puck with 15 seconds remaining. He fires it up to RNH at centre on the left side. He then tries a diagonal pass to Draisaitl at the right blueline, but the Ducks knock it down and ice the puck. The period ends.

They start the third period with 52 seconds remaining on the PP. At centre ice, Draisaitl is kicked out, again, and Poehling wins the draw over McDavid back to Trouba at the blueline and he fires it down the ice. Bouchard retrieves it behind the net, he comes out the right side and moves it to Draisaitl at the Oilers’ blueline, he turns up ice and carries it easily into the Ducks zone. He stops at the right wall just outside the circle. He finds McDavid coming in late in the middle of the ice just inside the blueline, who moves it to RNH in the left circle. RNH looks for Draisaitl in the slot, but the pass hits a stick and deflects harmlessly into Dostal’s glove. Faceoff with 32 second remaining on the man advantage. Poehling beats Draisaitl in the draw and the Ducks clear it to the Oilers’ blueline. McDavid picks it up on the left side of the ice, and the takes three hard crossovers and flies into the Ducks’ zone down the right side without pressure. He stops on the right hashmarks and moves it back to Draisaitl at the right point. He goes back to McDavid at the bottom of the right circle. He skates up slowly moves it to Bouchard in the middle of the zone, he pushes it back to McDavid at the top of the right circle. He moves it down to the bottom of the right circle to Draisaitl, back to McDavid who skates into the high slot between the circles and fakes the shot, dishes it back to Draisaitl for a one-timer from the right circle (I’d have preferred McDavid shooting from his position on this play). Dostal makes a good save, Draisaitl is first to the puck in the corner, but then his pass back to McDavid at the point isn’t close and it goes the length of the ice and the man advantage it over.

— After watching all four power plays, any suggestion that the Ducks’ PK, with help from Jay Woodcroft, has made some great adjustment to confuse the Oilers isn’t accurate. Edmonton entered the zone with ease on every rush chance in Game 2 after a rough Game 1. They adjusted by having Draisaitl stand stationary at the red line and then dish to a streaking McDavid. The power play looked sharp in the offensive zone. They had some good looks but couldn’t score. Poehling was great on faceoffs and the only time the Oilers got stopped was the two times McDavid tried to thread a pass through Washe.

The biggest issue was the 15-second sequence leading up to the shorthanded goal, but that was the Oilers being nonchalant and McDavid making a horrific giveaway. The Oilers unveiled another few new wrinkles, with the Hyman-high-in-the-slot-to-receive-the-pass-from-Draisaitl play, and it worked. He was wide open. Next time he could skate in even closer rather than just one-time it from high out. The other was the high slot switch in motion from Draisaitl and McDavid that led to a Draisaitl one-timer and Dostal’s best save of the game. I wouldn’t be too concerned about the power play. They had nine shots and created many good looks and were perfect on zone entries.

— I asked analyst Landon Ferraro if he thinks coaching is why the Oilers lost Game 2.

— The Ducks were whistled twice for roughing (ripping the helmet off of Curtis Lazar and Kasperi Kapanen). I’ve never seen two of those against one team in the same game. I’d expect Joel Quenneville will tell his guys to be smarter when engaging in scrums.