3 Things to Watch: Oilers at Ducks, Game 3 of Western Conference 1st Round

(2P) Oilers at (3P) Ducks 

Western Conference First Round Game 3

Best-of-7 series tied 1-1

10 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, Victory+, truTV, TNT, KCOP-13, SN, TVAS, CBC

ANAHEIM -- The Anaheim Ducks will host their first Stanley Cup Playoff game in eight years when they take on the Edmonton Oilers at Honda Center in Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round. 

Anaheim qualified for the postseason for the first time since 2017-18 and has not hosted a playoff game since losing 3-2 against the San Jose Sharks in the first round on April 14, 2018. The Ducks were swept by the Sharks that season and had not been back until this season.  

"It's going to be awesome," Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe said. "We're all excited to see the atmosphere and the fans, everyone is excited. I think the atmosphere is going to be crazy and we're just excited to see it."

The Ducks are looking to ride the momentum of a 6-4 win at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Wednesday to even the best-of-7 series 1-1. Ducks forward Cutter Gauthier had two goals and an assist in the win. He led Anaheim in scoring this season with 69 points (41 goals, 28 assists) in 76 games. 

"It's been a long time since these fans have gotten some playoff hockey at home and we're super excited to go out there and compete," Gauthier said. "It's a game of emotions, it might be hard to try and control those with how loud the building is going to be, but we're all looking forward to it, we're all excited for it and I know the fans are too."

Oilers captain Connor McDavid is still looking for his first point of the playoffs after being shut out in the first two games. Edmonton won 4-3 in Game 1, and it was the first time this season McDavid did not have at least a point in a victory. 

McDavid won his sixth Art Ross Trophy as NHL scoring champion with 138 points (48 goals, 90 assists) in 82 games and had at least a point in each of Edmonton's 41 regular-season wins.

McDavid left momentarily in Game 2 after sustaining an apparent ankle injury in the second period when he got tied up with teammate Mattias Ekholm and Ducks forward Ian Moore. He took part in Edmonton's morning skate and did not seemed bothered by his ankle. 

"He's always flying around, very often even if he does have something, he still looks like he's flying around," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. "He'll be able to play and he's good." 

Here are three things to watch in Game 3:

1. Facing McDavid

Rookie forward Tim Washe has done an excellent job in containing McDavid in the series. Washe, 24, is centering a line with left-wing Jeffrey Viel and right-wing Ian Moore, a converted defenseman. The three have lined up against McDavid as much as possible through the first two games and kept him off the scoresheet.

"It's a team thing first and foremost, he's on the ice against all of us," Washe said. "It's an effort and it takes everyone on the ice, and we have to be aware and try to make it as frustrating as possible for him."

Washe was one of 13 players to make their playoff debuts for the Ducks in this series.

"It's an awesome assignment, I'm having fun with it trying to do the best we can," he said. "Our line, we've done a really good job so far and we just want to keep building it, keep finding ways to be effective."

2. Power outage

The Oilers had the best power play in the NHL in the regular-season (30.6 percent) but have yet to score a goal with the man-advantage, going 0-for-6 in the series.

With forward Leon Draisaitl back from a lower-body injury sustained on March 15, which cost him the last 14 games of the regular season, it seems only a matter of time before it connects.

"We're very confident," Draisaitl said. "We know how to play our game. We have to simplify it, and our game has always come from our work ethic and when we get back to that, we'll be fine."

Conversely Anaheim is 3-for-5 on the power play and has scored a short-handed goal.

"It's sticking with it, it's such an important time of the year for the power play and the penalty kill, and we haven't shown up on the scoreboard in the first two games and we want to make an impact for sure and we're going to keep pushing here," Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said.

3. Gaining confidence

It took Anaheim a period for its playoff rookies to get up to speed and the longer the series goes, the more confidence they seem to build. The Ducks earned a hard-fought win in Game 2 to take home-ice advantage and hope to use the momentum in Game 3, in front of what is expected to be a boisterous, playoff-starved crowd.

"Coming home with the 1-1 series is perfect for us," Ducks forward Leo Carlsson said. "It's nice to win the second game to get some confidence here."

The Ducks are getting contributions throughout the lineup offensively, but their top line centered by Carlsson also featuring Gauthier on left wing and Troy Terry on right wing, has been particularly effective. Terry has four points (two goals, two assists), Gauthier has three (two goals, one assist) and Carlsson has two (one goal, one assist).

"We just have to keep playing with urgency, whether we're up a goal, or down a goal or all square," Gauthier said. "We have to have that urgency that we've played with a lot this year. They're going to be a tough group to beat and we know that."  

Oilers projected lineup

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Connor McDavid -- Zach Hyman

Vasily Podkolzin -- Leon Draisaitl -- Kasperi Kapanen

Matthew Savoie -- Josh Samanski -- Jack Roslovic

Colton Dach -- Curtis Lazar -- Trent Frederic

Mattias Ekholm -- Evan Bouchard

Darnell Nurse -- Connor Murphy

Jake Walman -- Ty Emberson

Connor Ingram

Tristan Jarry

Scratched: Calvin Pickard, Spencer Stastney

Injured: Mattias Janmark (shoulder), Max Jones (lower body), Jason Dickinson (undisclosed), Adam Henrique (lower body)

Ducks projected lineup

Chris Kreider -- Leo Carlsson -- Troy Terry

Alex Killorn -- Mikael Granlund -- Beckett Sennecke

Mason McTavish -- Ryan Poehling -- Cutter Gauthier 

Jeffrey Viel -- Tim Washe -- Ian Moore

Jackson LaCombe -- Jacob Trouba

Pavel Mintyukov -- John Carlson

Tyson Hinds -- Drew Helleson

Lukas Dostal

Ville Husso

Scratched: Frank Vatrano, Olen Zellweger,  Jansen Harkins, Ross Johnston 

Injured: Radko Gudas (lower body)

Status report

McDavid participated in the morning skate and will play. He missed part of the second period of Game 2 on Wednesday after appearing to roll his right ankle. ... Dickinson did not participate in the morning skate and the forward will be a game-time decision after missing Game 2. Samanski took Dickinson's spot on the third line. ... Nugent-Hopkins and Savoie switched lines from Game 2. ... The Ducks will have the same lineup as in Game 3. ... Terry did not attend the morning skate for maintenance reasons. ... Gudas, a defenseman, will miss his second straight game.