Oilers find a way to ‘survive another day’ with Game 5 win

EDMONTON -- The journey back from a 3-1 deficit in the best-of-7 series against the Anaheim Ducks started with a strong first period for the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round. 

That led into a convincing 4-1 win here at Rogers Place on Tuesday, setting up Game 6 at Honda Center in Anaheim on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, Victory+, truTV, TNT, KCOP-13, SN360, SN, TVAS, CBC).

For a team familiar with being in a series deficit, the road back for Edmonton is a process of surviving and advancing.

“You have to be grateful for just getting to the next day,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. “All we did is survive one more day. The pressure is on us, but it’s a big game for them too and they’ll be feeling that too. Closeout games are tough and, in their building, I’m sure they’re not going to want to come back to Edmonton. 

“There’s pressure on them, but we have to find a way to survive another day.”

The Oilers developed their survival instincts over the past five playoff seasons. 

They trailed the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 in the first round in 2022, and the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in the second round in 2024 before winning each series in seven games, and battled back from a 3-0 deficit in the Stanley Cup Final in 2024 to force Game 7 before losing, 2-1.

Last season, the Oilers lost the first two games of their first-round series against the Kings and battled back to win the next four. 

“I don’t know what it is with us,” Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard said. “I’m sure you’ve heard this 1,000 times, when our backs are against the wall, we play good hockey. 

“It was a good start for us, we’ve had a few good starts in this series and it’s a matter of holding the lead and I thought we did a good job doing that.”

Things looked as dire as they have ever been for the Oilers facing elimination heading into Game 6. 

Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said McDavid and forward Jason Dickinson were game-time decisions after they both skipped the morning skate. 

McDavid sustained an ankle injury in Game 2, which has limited his mobility, and Dickinson blocked a shot on April 7, which cost him the last three games of the regular season and two of the five games of the first round against the Ducks. 

“No, there was never a doubt, obviously,” McDavid said about playing. 

The Art Ross Trophy winner as the NHL scoring champion this season and Ted Lindsay award finalist had two assists in the win. He helped set up Leon Draisaitl for the third goal in the first period to take a 3-0 lead into the intermission.

McDavid then found Draisaitl on the power play at 10:24 of second period after the Ducks had cut the deficit to 3-1 on a power-play goal from Alex Killorn at 8:26.

“I really think he (McDavid) has played his best in the last four periods,” Knoblauch said. “The third period in Game 4, he had some really good scoring chances, drove the net two or three times late in the game. He almost scored on one of them, I think with about five minutes left in Game 4. He’s just continuing getting better, so that’s a good sign for us.”

Vasily Podkolzin and Zach Hyman had the other goals for the Oilers in the first period. Podkolzin scored on the first shot of the game on goalie Lukas Dostal, who was pulled after giving up three goals on nine shots. 

“It was a good start, (Podkolzin) set the tone and that whole line there did a great job of finding a way to get a couple of goals there,” McDavid said. “It’s obviously nice to pay with the lead. Not chasing a game is a good thing. Holding them off and closing it out was solid.”

Edmonton has scored first in every game of the series but was unable to hold off Anaheim in Games 2, 3, and 4. 

Taking a three-goal lead into the second period was pivotal and it required a timely save from goalie Connor Ingram toward the end of the first period to maintain the margin. 

Edmonton had given up a 2-0 and 3-2 lead in a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 4 on Sunday. 

“Three is obviously a lot different than two,” McDavid said. “It’s obviously a nice lead, but it’s not three. You want to get as big of a lead as you can. That’s the point of the game. We found a way to get to three and hold them off which was good to see.”

Having taken the first step back, the focus now shifts to Anaheim and trying to drag the series back to Edmonton for a deciding seventh game. 

When the Oilers were down 3-1 to Florida in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, the rallying cry from McDavid was to drag the Panthers back to Alberta. Now it’s the Ducks who the Oilers want to put on a flight with a win in Game 6. 

“It will take a big effort, a really, really big effort,” McDavid said. “We’re still in a tough, tough spot, a really tough spot. We’ve got to find a way to win in a tough building. I thought we were right there in Game 4 and will have another great opportunity in Game 6.”