A Sunday matinee (Dec. 29) saw the Edmonton Oilers battle the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks defeated the Oilers 5-3 in this divisional contest. Anaheim controlled play for most of the contest, and upset the Oilers despite losing the special teams battle. They were 0-5 on the power play, and allowed two goals shorthanded. However, they were still the better team and deserved the win. So, with that said, here’s the game recap.
Game Recap
Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring for Edmonton 8:03 into the first period for his league-leading 25th goal of the season. Connor McDavid set up Draisaitl with a cross-seam pass for a patented power play one-timer. Then, Evan Bouchard gave the Oilers an early 2-0 lead 11:49 into the period for his seventh of the season. Bouchard received a Viktor Arvidsson pass, and he walked in and picked his spot with a wrister, upstairs over the blocker of Lukas Dostal in the Ducks net. Anaheim then cut the lead to one on Cutter Gauthier’s fifth of the season 13:52 into the period. He cut to the middle, and beat defenceman Ty Emberson, before going five-hole on goaltender Calvin Pickard.
The Oilers extended their lead on Draisaitl’s second of the game, and second on the power play. McDavid stole the puck from the below the goal line and found Draisaitl in the slot, and he made no mistake for another one-timer. Shortly after, the Ducks answered back on Drew Helleson’s second NHL goal. A simple wrist shot from the blue line was redirected in the high slot, and took a nasty bounce that found a way past Pickard. Anaheim then tied the game at three on Robby Fabbri’s fifth of the season. An Oilers turnover in the defensive zone led to a 2-on-1, and Mason McTavish found Fabbri who buried the one-timer. Therefore, the game was tied at three heading into the third period despite Anaheim controlling the majority of the play, and outshooting Edmonton 23-13.
Related: Projected Lineups for the Oilers vs Ducks – 12/29/24
Anaheim got their first lead of the game with under three minutes remaining. Ryan Strome took the puck to the net and Pickard thought he got the right pad on the shot, but upon video review, it was determined that the puck crossed the line. The Ducks then added an empty netter, to ultimately put the game away, and snap their seven-game losing streak against the Oilers. Simply put, the Ducks showed up to play, and the Oilers did not.
Both teams return to action on New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31). The Oilers look to bounce back when they return home to play the Utah Hockey Club, while the Ducks look for back-to-back wins when they host the New Jersey Devils.
