Ducks pass Oilers for second place in Pacific

ANAHEIM -- The Anaheim Ducks moved within two points of the Pacific Division lead with a 4-3 victory against the Edmonton Oilers at Honda Center on Wednesday.
Defenseman Hampus Lindholm had an NHL career-high three points (one goal, two assists), and Ryan Getzlaf had three assists for the Ducks (39-23-11), who broke a tie for second place in the Pacific with the Oilers (39-25-9).
Rickard Rakell had a goal and an assist, Josh Manson and Patrick Eaves each scored, and Jonathan Bernier made 29 saves for Anaheim, which has won four of its past five games (4-0-1).

"You knew it was going to be a tough game because it was going to be a playoff-type game," said Lindholm, who's in his fourth NHL season. "Those are the games you want to play."
WATCH: All Oilers vs. Ducks highlights
Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists for the Oilers, who are one point ahead of the Calgary Flames for third place in the division. Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist, Pat Maroon had two assists, and Mark Letestu scored on a 6-on-3 power play with 6.7 seconds left to pull Edmonton within 4-3.
Oilers goalie Cam Talbot, who was coming off back-to-back shutouts, allowed four goals on 18 shots. He was replaced by Laurent Brossoit after Rakell scored his Ducks-leading 32nd goal at 11:23 of the second period to make it 4-2.
"In the second, we let off the gas," Draisaitl said. "Sometimes, you've got to give credit to the other team too."
After Draisaitl put the Oilers ahead 1-0 with his 25th goal at 5:58 of the first period, Eaves tied it 1-1 with his 25th on a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle at 7:46. Talbot was in position to make the save, but the puck got through an opening between the outside of his right pad and his stick, ending his shutout streak at 148:17.

"The first one I'm sure he would be willing to take back, but after that there were some hard shots," Edmonton coach Todd McLellan said. "The last guy I'm going to complain about is Cam Talbot."
McDavid scored his 26th goal to put the Oilers ahead 2-1 at 8:49, but Lindholm tied it 2-2 with 31 seconds left in the first. Rakell brought the puck down the right side and centered to Lindholm for his sixth goal.
Manson went end to end and scored from the slot at 1:33 of the second period for a 3-2 Anaheim lead.
"We weren't very happy with our first period, but the team responded like we wanted to," Getzlaf said.
The Ducks trailed the Sharks by nine points heading into their game against the St. Louis Blues on March 15.

Goal of the game

With the Ducks making a change, Draisaitl passed from the Edmonton zone to McDavid at the Anaheim blue line. McDavid used his body to shield the puck from defenseman Cam Fowler while he approached the net before pulling it across the front of the crease and sliding it across the goal line on the backhand.

Save of the game

The Ducks were on the power play and leading 4-2 late in the second period when Letestu and Zack Kassian got loose on a shorthanded 2-on-1 break. Letestu centered to Kassian in the slot for a redirection, but Bernier kicked back his right pad while moving from his right to left at 16:24.

Highlight of the game

Getzlaf passed to his left on a 3-on-2 for Rakell, who cut to the middle after receiving the puck with speed at the blue line. Rakell's first shot was blocked by Kris Russell, but Rakell got back the puck, spun Russell with a quick side-to-side stick move, and quickly flicked a shot into the right corner between Talbot and Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

Unsung performance of the game

Brossoit, who had not played since Feb. 21, gave Edmonton a chance to come back by making saves on all 16 shots he faced, including seven on Anaheim power plays.

They said it

"I thought we did a good job finding ways to produce. We just didn't shut it down enough." -- Oilers captain Connor McDavid
"We didn't have a good first period, but we changed our attitude from the second period on. We ground it out." -- Ducks coach Randy Carlyle

Need to know

McDavid has 25 points (eight goals, 17 assists) in the past 18 games, including 10 during a five-game point streak (three goals, seven assists). His 85 points lead the NHL. ... Draisaitl has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in the past five games. ... Getzlaf has 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) in the past 10 games. ... Rakell has eight points (five goals, three assists) during a six-game point streak and has scored 10 goals in the past 12 games. ... Anaheim forward Andrew Cogliano played in his 777th consecutive game, passing Craig Ramsay for fourth place in NHL history. ... Fowler had eight shots on goal, tying Sami Vatanen, Chris Pronger (twice), Scott Niedermayer (twice), Milos Holan (twice) and Bill Houlder for most by a Ducks defenseman in one game.

What's next

Oilers: At the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; ALT, SNW, NHL.TV).
Ducks: Host the Winnipeg Jets on Friday (10 p.m. ET; PRIME, TSN3, NHL.TV)