The Oilers responded three minutes later as Zack Kassian slammed home a backdoor pass by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
The back-and-forth pace continued with teams trading scoring chances throughout the opening period. Seconds after Smith robbed Zegras with a point-blank save to keep the Ducks from going ahead, Connor McDavid raced the other way, slipping a forehand shot between Stolarz's legs for his fourth goal of the season and a 2-1 Oilers lead.
The sudden change could have given the Oilers momentum, but the Ducks responded immediately with a goal just 15 seconds later. Steel collected the puck in the corner, spinning away from an Oilers defender to throw a low sharp-angle bid on net. The shot appeared to catch Smith by surprise as it carromed off the goaltender's left leg pad and past him to pull the Ducks even.
It appeared the teams would head to the first intermission locked at two, but simultaneous minor penalties assessed to the Ducks in the final moments of the period gave the Oilers a two-man advantage and the home team capitalized. After a save by Stolarz, the puck bounced free to McDavid in the slot, who set up Draisaitl for a one-timer, giving the Oilers a 3-2 edge after 20 minutes.
Playing the second half of a road back-to-back, the Ducks responded to the late goal with a strong second period, scoring twice in just over a minute to take the lead into the final stanza.
"Their belief in each other, the way they stick up for each other, the way they encourage each other on the bench, they are certainly all in it together," Eakins said of his team's response. "That's not only fun to watch, it's inspiring and encouraging."
Deslauriers scored the first, registering his first of the new season with the finishing touch on a nice passing sequence by Terry and Ryan Getzlaf.
Two shifts later, Steel struck again to put the Ducks ahead, flying down left wing and wrapping a backhand shot around Smith's outstretched pad.