Ducks Come Up Short Against Oilers

Photo: AP

By Michael Walters

The Anaheim Ducks finished up their quick back-to-back road trip in Edmonton against the Oilers. Lukáš Dostál was in net against Stuart Skinner. Olen Zellweger drew in the lineup and Pavel Mintyukov was a healthy scratch.

Recap:

The Ducks got the first power play of the contest just over halfway through the first period, but they weren’t able to convert. The Oilers then got a power play a few minutes later and scored. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins took a shark-angle shot from the left circle which deflected off Jackson LaCombe‘s stick. Oilers lead 1-0 after the first period.

The Oilers took a 2-0 lead at about the eight minute mark with a goal by Darnell Nurse. He took a wrist shot that beat Dostal on his stick side.

Brett Leason got the Ducks on the board late in the second period. The Oilers turned over the puck and Leason was off to the races on a breakaway. He scored five-hole to pull Anaheim within one before the second period ended.

The Ducks then tied the game on the power play just under seven minutes into the third period. LaCombe took a wrist shot from the point that beat Skinner high through traffic.

It looked like this game might head to overtime, but Leon Draisaitl scored with just 1:35 left to give Edmonton the lead. Anaheim pulled their goalie for the extra attacker, but couldn’t tie the game. Ducks lost 3-2.

Analysis:

The comeback kids came up short this time. The Ducks got off to a slow start and found themselves down 2-0 halfway through his contest. A goal late in the second period by Leason gave them life. They were able to tie things up in the early stages of the third period, but a late goal by Edmonton ended up being the difference.

In terms of even strength play the Ducks actually had more shots on goal than the Oilers 29 to 26. Edmonton did put-up 60 shot attempts to 50 for Anaheim. The Ducks posted a CF% of 45.45% and a FF% of 45.00%. The difference was in the quality scoring chances as the Oilers had a xGF% of 64.99% to the Ducks 35.01%. Edmonton had 12 high dangerous chances to 6 for Anaheim.

As for the special teams, the Ducks and Oilers each scored with the power play. Anaheim had gone 0-for-17 in their last six games with the man advantage. The Ducks have only scored once in their last 32 power plays. LaCombe scored the goal on the power play and now has a career high of seven goals this season. He appears to have earned a permanent spot on the blue line, while Zellweger and Mintyukov continued to be rotated in and out.

What’s Next?

The Ducks host the Tampa Bay Lightning Sunday at 5PM.

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January 4th, 2025