Kapanen scores 2nd goal late, Oilers rally past Ducks in Game 1

EDMONTON -- Kasperi Kapanen scored his second goal of the game with 1:54 remaining in the third period, and the Edmonton Oilers rallied for a 4-3 win against the Anaheim Ducks in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round at Rogers Place on Monday.

Kapanen took a pass in the slot from Vasily Podkolzin, who was behind the net, and beat Lukas Dostal glove side with a one-timer.

His goal came after Jason Dickinson, who was returning from a lower-body injury that kept him out of the final three games of the regular season, tied it 3-3 with his second goal at 11:30 of the third. Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas fell to the ice while skating back into the zone, which allowed Mattias Ekholm to skate in uncontested and put a slap shot on Dostal from the left circle. The Ducks goalie made the initial save, but the rebound kicked right out to Dickinson, who buried it into the open net.

“I think that was just, you know, kind of me and (Dickinson) scoring a couple goals tonight. Just very important for this team,” Kapanen said. “And other guys stepping up and making big defensive plays that you don't really see on the highlight reel but that are just as important.”

Leon Draisaitl had two assists in his return after missing the final 14 games of the regular season with a lower-body injury for the Oilers, who are the No. 2 seed from the Pacific Division. Connor Ingram made 25 saves.

“I felt OK. It’s certainly going to take a couple of games to really be myself and really trust myself again, but for a start, I thought it was OK,” Draisaitl said.

“(The Ducks are) skilled. We knew that. They can score, they’re good off the rush, they can all skate. It’s a good hockey team. Not much else to say. Two good teams going at it. We’ll take it from there.”

Troy Terry scored twice and added an assist, and Leo Carlsson had a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who are the No. 3 seed from the Pacific. Dostal made 30 saves.

Game 2 of the best-of-7 series will be here on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, TVAS2, KCOP-13, TBS, Victory+, HBO MAX).

"It was a tough loss, we did a lot of things right. We’re happy with certain things,” Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville said. “Disappointed, but it creates a more desperate appetite for us moving forward.

"We’re never out of a game. We’re competitive, and the consistency of our team game and structure in our game that’s been there in the regular season, is here."

Dickinson put the Oilers ahead 1-0 at 17:21 of the first period. He got behind Ducks defenseman Tyson Hinds, took a stretch pass from Jake Walman, and deked Dostal on a breakaway before shooting into an open net.

“In my mind, there was no way I was not playing,” Dickinson said. “Whatever I had to do I was going to be out there. I got a taste of (the Stanley Cup Playoffs) years ago, and man is it fun. It’s the best time of year. You fight all year for this.”

Kapanen made it 2-0 exactly one minute later at 18:21. He chopped down his own rebound in the low slot before batting the puck in past a diving Dostal near the left post.

Terry cut it to 2-1 just 19 seconds into the second period, getting the rebound of Carlsson's shot in the right circle and scoring past Ingram's outstretched left pad.

“It’s hard to swallow, but I’m proud of our group and I’m excited for the rest of this series. I think we proved it to ourselves,” Terry said. “I didn’t think we weren’t ready to start the game. I thought we were doing a lot of things, just maybe some quick lessons on mental mistakes."

Carlsson tied it 2-2 at 4:38, this time tapping in the rebound of a shot from Terry.

“We knew it was going to be hard, but we’re a great team also,” Carlsson said. “We knew it was going to be a tight series, for sure.

“One turnover can dictate the entire game, so we’ve just got to be less sloppy and play more playoff hockey.”

Terry gave Anaheim its first lead of the game, 3-2, on a power play at 14:29. He scored with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle through a screen by Chris Kreider and over Ingram’s right shoulder.

“It’s hard to start a playoff game down 2-0, but I thought we settled in after the first," Terry said. "You see the little things here and there, but as a group I think we proved to ourselves we’re right there.”

NOTES: Dickinson is the fourth player to record a multigoal game in his Oilers postseason debut. The others: Brian Glynn (Game 1 of 1992 Division Semifinals), Jaroslav Pouzar (Game 4 of 1983 Conference Finals) and Jari Kurri (Game 1 of 1981 Preliminary Round). ... Oilers forward Connor McDavid was held off the score sheet. The Oilers were 0-12-2 in the regular season when McDavid failed to register a point. ... Ingram is the third goaltender to earn a win in his first postseason appearance with Edmonton, joining Jack Campbell (Game 4 of 2023 Western Conference First Round) and Andy Moog (Game 1 of 1981 Preliminary Round).