Ducks, Oilers trade chances in another run-and-gun game

ANAHEIM -- Defense optional.

With the amount of speed and offensive talent at their disposal, the Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers went into default mode and traded chances once again in Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round.

It was pond hockey at Honda Center, which was hosting its first Stanley Cup Playoff game since 2018, and the Ducks were able to come out on top and take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series with a 7-4 win. Game 4 will be here on Sunday (9:30 p.m. ET; Victory+, ESPN, TVAS2, SN, CBC).

“I think in all three games there’s been a lot of offense, a lot of pucks have gone in the net, lead changes, momentum, excitement," Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. "It started off tonight. I thought the crowd was outstanding and it was a great start to the game. We did a lot of good things most of the night, and it was fun to see the crowd get rewarded with a win. It’s been a long time coming.”

Buoyed by a boisterous and expectant crowd, the Ducks came out in the first period like they were shot out of a cannon. Had it not been for the play of Oilers goalie Connor Ingram in the first period, the game might have been decided after 20 minutes.

Anaheim ended the period with a 20-7 advantage in shots, yet it only outscored Edmonton 2-1. The Oilers then responded with two goals in the first 5:39 of the second period, and the two teams went on to trade chances until Alex Killorn tied it 3-3 at 12:37.

“Any time you let in seven it’s not a goalie problem, it’s just defending better,” Oilers forward Zach Hyman said. “We didn’t give ourselves a chance with the amount of goals we gave up.”

Both teams talked prior to the series about how they wanted to play a tight-checking game and try to limit the other side’s chances.

It hasn’t really worked out that way, although the Ducks have been happy to be able to prevail in any matter the past two games (also a 6-4 win in Game 2 on Wednesday).

“We’d rather play safer, I guess,” Ducks forward Mikael Granlund said. “I mean, if we can win every game 7-4 we’ll take that, but we’d rather play a more safe game, for sure.”

Defense is usually the priority for most teams in the postseason, yet with so many weapons on either side, it’s difficult to keep them all in check.

Beckett Sennecke and Leo Carlsson scored within 42 seconds of each other in the third period to give the Ducks a 5-3 lead, with both converting odd-man rushes. Connor McDavid scored on a power play at 8:36 to cut the lead to 5-4, making for an exciting finish.

But it was perhaps an unlikely player who iced the game for Anaheim. Jeffrey Viel, who scored three goals in the regular season, beat Ingram short side with a backhand at 16:57 before Jackson LaCombe iced the game with an empty-net goal at 18:27.

“They have some good players over there, too,” Granlund said. “We’d rather have a 3-1 win than a 7-4 win, for sure.”

Edmonton would as well, as that was its recipe for success in getting to the Stanley Cup Final in each of the past two seasons.

The Oilers, however, have played the past two games at the Ducks' pace and have had trouble keeping up with a young team that has 13 skaters making their playoff debuts.

“Today certainly felt like it,” Oilers forward Kasperi Kapanen said. “I don’t think that’s what we want to be doing. Defensively we can be better. Tonight and in Game 2 we keep shooting ourselves in the foot. I feel like we’re giving them these wins.

“It’s disappointing, but it’s a race to four wins. We’re not going to panic, but we have to learn from our mistakes and just be better next game.”

Kapanen was right about the mistakes.

On Sennecke's go-ahead goal, the Ducks took advantage of a turnover by Edmonton defenseman Evan Bouchard to create an odd-man rush. Bouchard passed up a shooting opportunity from the point and tried to find McDavid in the slot, but the pass was tipped away, and Sennecke converted on the 2-on-1 by firing a shot past Ingram.

Carlsson’s goal was also on a 2-on-1 after defenseman Mattias Ekholm got caught up ice.

“Obviously, it was not good enough from us tonight,” Ekholm said. “We scrambled to at least have a chance going into the third, but obviously mistakes are mistakes. It was not our best tonight, for sure, and we have to take responsibility out there for that. It starts with me, it starts with the guys I’m out there with, and it goes on. We just have to make sure we value the defensive side of the puck."

Ironically, Edmonton can relate to the type of run-and-gun hockey Anaheim is playing. The Oilers, too, were once young and talented and focused on offense first.

“We just have to do the little things,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “You just look at the goals against and it’s stuff that shouldn’t happen, especially at this time of year.”