"There wasn't much going on in the whole game. It was pretty tight out there," Ritchie said. "Not too many really good chances either way. It seems like there's always a wild finish when we play them. Big two points for us moving forward."
The Ducks potted two goals in 30.2 seconds after going nearly 60 without finding the net. The winner was the 100th of Rakell's young career, but just his fourth of the season and first since November 1 after scoring 30-plus each of the past two campaigns.
"It feels great," Rakell said. "Any time you're not scoring for a while, I knew I had scoring chances the last few games. Great feeling. Hopefully I can play a little bit more loose now."
It wasn't the first time Ritchie scored a big goal against the Oilers. His game-winner in Game 7 of the Second Round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs exorcised the demons of four straight seasons of Game 7 defeats for Anaheim. Game 5 of the series was the legendary Comeback on Katella, when the Ducks trailed 3-0 with three minutes to go and ultimately crushed the Oilers' spirits with a Corey Perry goal in OT.
The Ducks came agonizingly close to breaking a scoreless tie in the third period on what appeared to be an Adam Henrique goal, until replay review overturned it and Edmonton instead went in front not long afterward.
Blame it on the tryptophan, but the Ducks and Oilers skated through more than two full periods of scoreless - and mostly uneventful - hockey with a limited amount of scoring chances. An Anaheim power play early in the third provided an opportunity, and a Ryan Getzlaf slap shot deflected off a stick and hit Koskinen in the sternum. He held the puck, but went down in a heap to the ice soon afterward. He stayed in the game, however, after getting looked at by the Edmonton trainer.
Anaheim didn't convert on that power play, but not long after it expired, Henrique's one-timer from the slot deflected off Koskinen and then the right post before dancing along the goal line. The call on the ice was good goal, but video review revealed the puck did not completely cross the stripe by no more than an inch.
A Brandon Montour slashing penalty on an Edmonton rush opened the door for the first goal of the game, converted by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on a wrister from the right wing. The goal came seconds after officials missed a Nugent-Hopkins hook on Anaheim forward Andrew Cogliano as they battled for the puck in the Edmonton end.
"It takes 60-plus minutes to get points in the NHL, and tonight was a prime example," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "It wasn't a hockey game we would say we executed at a very high level. But we get a bounce with the goalie out, bounced out to Nick Ritchie - big, strong guy - and he was able to put it across the line and give us life."
The Ducks maintained their history of success against Edmonton, having gained a least a point in 26 of the last 28 games between the two (including a 2-0-2 mark last season).
Anaheim (10-9-5) closed out its lengthy homestand in fine fashion, with two wins and points in four straight. Now the Ducks hit the road for five straight on a trip that concludes December 2 in Washington.
"Hopefully we feel good about ourselves," Carlyle said, "but if you look inside of it, our execution needs to get to another level. We've played better and lost games. This is the cruel part of sports. Sometimes you can play well and don't get points you deserve."
