Playoff hockey is back.

On Monday evening, the Edmonton Oilers started their postseason, the final team to do so, taking down the Anaheim Ducks in the final two minutes of the game in a 4-3 victory. Let’s take a look at what went on in this one.

The first 17 minutes of the opening frame were a cagey affair, as the Oilers defended well and Lukáš Dostál saved all shots the Oilers threw at him. Well, that was until about two and a half minutes left in the first period, as Jake Walman sprung Jason Dickinson with speed for a breakaway. The third-line centre faked out the Ducks’ netminder and deposited it into the back of the net to open the Oilers’ playoff account.

Less than a minute later, the Oilers doubled their lead. After a zone entry, Vasily Podkolzin found Leon Draisaitl along the boards, who in turn gave it to Kasperi Kapanen in the slot. His first and second shots were saved, but he eventually batted it in for the 2-0 lead.

Heading into the second period, the Oilers were riding high. However, that lasted for 19 seconds. Dickinson overcommitted, freeing up Troy Terry on the weak side. Connor Ingram stopped the Ducks’ initial shot, but the rebound came right out to Terry, who had a wide-open cage to shoot at.

Five minutes into the second period, the Ducks tied the game. Evan Bouchard whiffed on a reversal, with the puck coming out to a wide-open Terry in the faceoff dot. The Oilers collapsed on the shooter, allowing Leo Carlsson to tap in the rebound.

Darnell Nurse took a dumb penalty with about five and a half minutes left in the middle frame. Off the ensuing faceoff, Terry beat a screened Ingram to give the Ducks their first lead of the series.

Sometimes you have to be lucky to be good. With eight and a half minutes left in the game, the Oilers had a rush chance. Radko Gudas blew a tire, allowing Mattias Ekholm to walk in and blast a shot. The rebound came out to Dickinson, who scored his second of the game.

With under two minutes left in the game, the Oilers got a zone entry, then established a cycle. Instead of going back to the point, Draisaitl went down low to Podkolzin behind the net. The Russian forward made a terrific pass out front to Kapanen, who scored his second of the game.

The Oilers first period was terrific, holding the Ducks to just four shots while managing 13 shots and two goals. It looked like defence that you’d see from the two Oiler teams that went to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Then they suddenly forgot how to defend in the second period. The first goal saw two Ducks get open on the weak side with no Oiler defender around either player. Evan Bouchard’s failed reversal on the second goal also wasn’t great, as the Ducks shot after a shot for a rebound. They were also outshot in the third period, though the Ducks were chasing late in the game.

In the first period, Adam Henrique collided with a teammate and didn’t return. It was ruled a lower-body injury and didn’t look great. Jason Dickinson also went down with an injury off an offensive zone faceoff, but he returned.

And what a return it was. After already scoring the game’s opening goal, Dickinson scored a huge game-tying goal after Radko Gudas blew a tire. What a great pickup for the Oilers ahead of the trade deadline.

Bouchard’s game wasn’t great. He was having trouble trying to break it out, turning it over a handful of times. In the last two postseason runs, Bouchard has been the best Oilers in a handful of series, and he needs to be better.

Connor McDavid also didn’t have a great game. The Ducks must’ve watched a lot of tape of the 2017 series between the two teams because they were draped all over him throughout the game. There were numerous occasions during the game, and especially on the first Oilers power play, where McDavid attempted to beat all Duck players on the ice and turned it over at the blue line. That said, it was the first time all season the Oilers won without their captain getting a point.

Surprisingly, there weren’t a whole lot of scrums after whistles in this game, nor were there a whole lot of power play opportunities. The one goal that came on the power play belonged to the Ducks after Darnell Nurse decided to cross check a player in the head. That’s not a penalty he should be taking when the Oilers were on their heels.

One defender who had a great game was Jake Walman. He picked up two assists on both of Dickinson’s goals, but it wasn’t just that. Walman was physical all game and was the Oilers’ best puck-moving defenceman in this one. The left-shot defenceman had a pretty rough regular season, but you’ll take that if he keeps performing like this in the playoffs.

Kasperi Kapanen is a big time player. That is all. He can be the worst player of all-time in the regular season, but he steps it up in big moments.

Between the pipes, Connor Ingram stopped 24 of 28 shots for an .889 save percentage. The Oilers netminder didn’t have much of a chance on any of the Ducks’ goals. However, he made a massive save before the Oilers’ game-tying goal in the third period, pretty much saving their chances of winning the game. In the final minute, the Ducks shot the puck right at him despite a wide open net.

Going up 1-0 in the series is important, but it’s far from over. Game 2 goes on Wednesday at 8:00 PM MT.