GAME RECAP: Oilers 6, Ducks 5

EDMONTON, AB - Leon Draisaitl recorded his 200th NHL goal and Zack Kassian factored in with two crucial tallies in a 6-5 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night that saw the Oilers finish their season-opening three-game homestand at Rogers Place a perfect 3-0.
The German scored twice and added two helpers, while Connor McDavid posted a goal and two assists in a contest that saw the Oilers trail heading into the second intermission and come from behind to claim the two points with three goals in the final 20 minutes.
Mikko Koskinen recorded his first win of the campaign with 20 saves on 21 shots in relief of Mike Smith, who left the game in the middle frame due to injury.

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FIRST BLOOD

The Ducks flew into the Oilers zone, with Kevin Shattenkirk moving to the front of the formation and accepting a short feed from Trevor Zegras between the hash marks before beating Cody Ceci wide and lifting a quick snap shot over the glove of Mike Smith five minutes into the opening period.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Draisaitl tallied his 200th NHL goal from his regular spot on the left circle on the powerplay, one-timing an effort past an outstretched Anthony Stolarz with 31 seconds remaining in the opening frame after McDavid collected the loose puck in the slot and quickly dished it to the German.
"Nummer zweihundert" for Leon capped off five goals in the opening frame and gave Edmonton a 3-2 lead through 20 minutes.

SAVE OF THE GAME

Smith pushed across his crease quickly to make a big stop on a Trevor Zegras in close with five minutes on the clock in the first period. The save proved vital, as just eight seconds later, the puck was in the back of the Anaheim net after McDavid finished the sequence five-hole under Stolarz on a breakaway.
Later in the second period, injury would force the netminder out of the game following a collision with Devin Shore in the blue paint that followed a scramble in front of the Oilers net.

TURNING POINT

Down two in the final frame, the Oilers got two goals of contrasting quality to retake the lead. Kassian's redirection off Evan Bouchard's turnaround shot on the powerplay trickled over the line to tie the score, before Bouchard became the benefactor five minutes later of a puck he put towards goal below the goal line that somehow snuck through Stolarz for a 5-4 Oilers advantage.
It wasn't pretty, but we'll take it.

TOP PERFORMER

Kassian was critical, scoring two equalizing goals in the game for his first two tallies of the season. The sparkplug missed the opening game of the season due to injury and is making up for lost time on a line with Warren Foegele and Derek Ryan that's been incredibly effective in the opening contests of the '21-22 season.

FACT CHECK

Draisaitl became the fifth-fastest Oiler and eighth-fastest active player in the NHL to reach 200 goals, with the German achieving the feat in 481 games played. Only Wayne Gretzky (242), Jari Kurri (328), Glenn Anderson (348) and Mark Messier (442) reached the milestone in fewer games in Blue & Orange than the Deutschland Dangler, who already holds the mantle for most points by any German-born player in NHL history.

PARTING WORDS

Draisaitl on getting the win in a game that saw both teams combine for 11 goals and struggle defensively:
"Yeah, that's obviously true," he said. "You don't want to give up five goals ever. That means you have to scramble offensively to win the game. You don't want to be a team like that. Obviously the two points are big, no question about it. We needed that, but there are lots of things we can do better defensively, We'll work on it and get better at it."

Kassian on the team finding a way to win and pull two points from a defensively sloppy game:
"It definitely wasn't one of our best efforts I think," he said. "It was a big third period by our group. The second period was pretty ugly, but we found a way. I think good teams find ways to win. In the past years, we would've found ways to lose that game, but tonight we found a way to win. Whenever you can start the year 3-0, it's a positive step. Now we have to bring that energy on the road."
Kassian on scoring two big goals after missing the opening game and recording an assist on Saturday against Calgary:
"You never want to miss the Home Opener," he said. "But I think collectively as a line, Ryan and Foegele, we've been great. We read off each other great. We're playing a good north game right now, we're playing heavy and skating, we're hard to handle in the o-zone, and if we continue that and bring our work ethic, we're going to be a tough line to handle all year."
Bouchard on his increasing ice time and being put in more defensive situations after a season of limited action in '20-21:
"I just want to play my game and not really focus too much on the minutes," he said. "I just want to play a hard, strong game so that in those crucial minutes you can play."
"I think (I feel the trust). I think it's just hard work, and you really have to embrace where they put you in whatever role it is. That's what I'm doing now."
Draisaitl on Koskinen coming into the game in relief of Smith and performing well with 20 saves:
"I don't think it's very easy to come in cold into a game like that," he said. "I thought he did a great job and responded really well, making big stops for us when we needed them to keep us in it. He was really good tonight."

Koskinen on his mindset coming into the game in relief and having the positive impact he did:
"Like I said at the start of the season, I just want to have fun," he said. "Obviously, it's not that easy going in. You don't want to see Smitty go down, so when I went in there, I wanted to have fun. That's my mindset."
Draisaitl on the Oilers heading out on their first American road trip tomorrow beginning Thursday night in Arizona:
"It's exciting to go on the road," he said. "It's exciting to see different teams and go up against them. I think we're all looking forward to this road trip. It's going to be fun. A couple of hard games, but were ready for it and excited for it."
Head Coach Dave Tippett on the severity of Smith's injury:
"I think it's going to be day-to-day," he said. "He tweaked something that he didn't want to hurt any worse, so lower-body injury day-to-day, and we'll see where he is tomorrow. We've got a back-to-back coming up, so we'll see what happens tomorrow. He's going to see a doctor in the morning just to check things out."
"We won't know (if we need another goalie) until tomorrow I think."