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WHAT'S NEXT
The Oilers three-game road trip comes to an end with a meeting with the Sharks in San Jose on Saturday. The game can be seen on Sportsnet and Sportsnet 360 at 8 pm MST, or heard on 630 CHED and the Oilers Radio Network.
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After surrendering the opening goal on their first shot against when they visited the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, the Oilers were looking for a much better start against the Ducks, and for a few minutes they appeared to achieve that objective.
Connor McDavid, who entered the game with seven goals in the first three games of the month, got the puck on his first shift, exploded down the right wing past Cam Fowler, cut hard to the net and unfortunately lost the handle on the puck as he was about to shoot on Gibson.
The Oilers followed their captain's lead and peppered Gibson with five shots on goal through the opening two minutes, but despite the early momentum advantage, it was the home side that struck first at the 2:28 mark.
Anaheim opened the scoring on an unfortunate bounce from the Oilers perspective as Lindholm's point shot was going wide of the net but struck Andrej Sekera's leg and found its way past Cam Talbot to make it 1-0 for the home side.
Things went from bad to worse for Sekera a bit later in the period when an errant puck caught him in the face and he was forced to leave the game. His return was officially ruled out at the start of the middle frame.
Looking to ignite a spark for his team, former Ducks forward Pat Maroon dropped the gloves with veteran defenceman Kevin Bieksa for a spirited scrap. Maroon avoided a few early Bieksa haymakers before the combatants tied each other up and transitioned into more of an upright wrestling match.
The Oilers held a 14-11 shot advantage through the opening 20 minutes, but the Ducks maintained their 1-0 lead on Lindholm's unassisted marker.
The visitors had two prime opportunities to even the score in the middle frame as they were awarded a pair of power plays. The first came when Leon Draisaitl was hauled down on a breakaway by both Adam Henrique and Josh Manson. No penalty shot was given, but Manson was dealt a tripping minor.
The Ducks took the momentum from their back-to-back penalty kills and extended their lead to 2-0 when Corey Perry tallied his 11th of the season after he intercepted a clearing attempt at the Oilers blueline.
Anaheim returned the favour with a turnover of their own and Slepyshev was the benefactor as he got the Oilers on the board just 68 seconds after Perry's goal. After the puck skipped into the neutral zone, Slepyshev got to it first, burst in alone on Gibson and beat him with a nifty backhand deke for his second of the season.
"He was unbelievable tonight, honestly, creating chances all over the ice," McDavid said of Slepyshev's performance. "I really, really liked his game."
Head Coach Todd McLellan concurred with the captain's assessment and said Slepyshev will likely receive further opportunities to produce after fellow winger Drake Caggiula was injured against the Ducks - much like Sekera - taking a puck to the face.
The Ducks re-established their two-goal cushion early in the third period as Lindholm's productive night continued. The blueliner fired a shot on net that was tipped by Ryan Kesler past Talbot to make it 3-1.
McDavid set up Russell as the Oilers cut the deficit to 3-2 with five minutes remaining in regulation, but that was as close as they got as the Ducks held on for the slim decision.
"It's history repeating itself and it's becoming frustrating for the group and for the players," McLellan said of his team's performance.
"No one's happy and the mood is not good right now, but we've got to play again tomorrow, it's as simple as that."
The Oilers will conclude their all-California road trip on Saturday night against their other 2017 playoff opponent, the San Jose Sharks. Edmonton beat San Jose 5-3 in their first meeting of the season on Dec. 18 at Rogers Place as Ryan Strome scored twice.
Both Sekera and Caggiula are "very questionable" to play vs. San Jose as a result of their respective facial injuries.
