PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Ducks (Game 2)

The Edmonton Oilers aim to take a 2-0 series lead on the Anaheim Ducks with a victory in Game 2 of their first-round matchup at Rogers Place on Wednesday.

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PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Ducks (Game 2)

EDMONTON, AB – Lessons learned and proven depth that's going to be tested once again as we prepare for Game 2 back in our barn.

The Edmonton Oilers are looking to take control against the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night at Rogers Place after needing to rally in the third period of Game 1 on Monday to score the winner from Kasperi Kapanen with less than two minutes left to take a 1-0 lead in their first-round series.

"You've got to find ways to win games at this time of year, and we did that," Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said on Tuesday. "But for sure, some things to keep improving and some good takeaways, too."

While their secondary scoring was the leading factor in Monday's Game 1 triumph for the Oilers, their depth will be tested in a much different way on Wednesday when the puck drops on Game 2 for their chance to take a 2-0 series lead back to Orange County.

After holding an optional practice on Tuesday following their 4-3 comeback victory, Head Coach Kris Knoblauch revealed that forward Adam Henrique won't be available due to a lower-body injury he sustained on a collision with Kasperi Kapanen early in the first period, while also casting doubt on the 36-year-old's status moving forward.

The centre collided with Kapanen at 17:51 of the first period and fell to the ice, where he clutched his left knee before skating off the ice on his own power and exiting the contest with only 2:56 of total ice time.

"He will be unavailable tomorrow, and we're not sure for how long, but he will not be available," Knoblauch said.

The Oilers will have to rely on their depth to fill the vacancy left by Henrique in a similar vein to how their secondary scoring came through in their come-from-behind victory over the Ducks in Game 1 on Monday, which was ripe with adversity for the Blue & Orange to learn from in their first game of a new playoff campaign.

Henrique is one of the first players over the boards for the Oilers on the penalty kill, and also draws a lot of face-off assignments as a right-shot centre that will look to be filled by the likes of Josh Samanski and Curtis Lazar after both forwards were on the outside looking in as healthy scratches for Monday's Game 1 of the series.

Having faced difficult decisions to withhold those forwards from the lineup, Coach Knoblauch knows he has two very capable options with different characteristics who played very well to finish the regular season, showing they're more than capable of filling Henrique's shoes.

"It was tough taking those guys out," Knoblauch said. "During the playoffs, there's going to be a lot more injuries and guys get banged up. Whether you want a different look or some different chemistry with the line, you know there's going to be some lineup changes, but it came a little bit sooner than we would like with an injury."

"Samanski adds a little bit more speed to our lineup, and he was playing with a line that was playing pretty well at the end of the season with Dach and Frederic.  Lazar gives you a little bit more aggressiveness, a little more physicality, and that's important in the playoffs.  He also gives you more options on face-offs on that right side.

"But I think those two guys are great options, and it's nice to have good players at your disposal."

With none of their top-five scorers managing to find the back of the net on Monday, it was the depth scoring of the Oilers that proved the difference when Kasperi Kapanen and Jason Dickinson each scored twice to fuel their offence and third-period heroics that ultimately claimed victory after a tough middle frame from the Blue & Orange.

"We have lots of guys that can step up in any situation, and a lot of the time it's going to be a couple of guys scoring big goals and making big plays, but then the other guys are making big plays on the other side of the puck and making sure that they're creating chances, but also not giving up anything big," Nugent-Hopkins said.

"We have so much experience within our depth that guys understand that sometimes it's their turn to show up and find ways to score big goals. We saw it with Kappy and Dickie getting two apiece, which obviously got us the win.  But I think because of the depth that we have and the experience within that depth, guys are ready to step up at any moment."

Kapanen and Dickinson each scored their firsts of the night just one minute apart near the end of a dominant first period by the Oilers, outshooting Anaheim 13-4 and leading by two through 20 minutes, but the Ducks responded with a three-goal middle frame to force them to re-evaluate by trailing 3-2 heading into the final frame.

The Oilers had been in this position before on their two previous trips to the Stanley Cup Final, and the situation they found themselves in after 40 minutes against the Ducks was a strong early reminder to the group to get back to playing simple hockey when they stray from their game plan.

"Definitely positives, and we found a way to win a game, which is what matters at this point," Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "But I think the way that we played in the first was simple and fast; just content with putting pucks deep and just establishing the forecheck and winning races.  Then we kind of  got away from it in the second period.  I think that was pretty clear, and they had their push, which is going to be expected for sure."

Connor Ingram made an important save on Beckett Sennecke before Dickinson brought it back to 3-3 with 8:30 to go in regulation with his second of the night, converting a rebound from Mattias Ekholm after Radko Gudas lost his edge to give the Swedish blueliner time to line up a low blast from the right circle.

That set the stage for an exciting finish to Game 1 that was delivered late by Kapanen, who followed suit with Dickinson to score his second goal off some stellar work by his line to cycle the puck down low and allow Vasily Podkolzin to find him open in front for the game-winner under the left pad of Lukas Dostal with 1:54 on the clock in regulation.

Making his return to the lineup from injury along with Dickinson, Draisaitl had assists on each of Kapanen's goals, including the secondary helper on his winner that came off a terrific individual effort to split the Ducks' defence and gain the zone.

"We can help ourselves when they do have a push by just continuing the same mindset of just putting pucks deep and having that simple mentality," Nugent-Hopkins continued. "If you let up against a team like that, they're going to take advantage, and that's what we saw. But we started to get back to it a bit in the third, and it paid off."

The Oilers did it all while going 0-for-2 on the power play, even with the return of Draisaitl, which is one of the shortcomings of Monday's victory that they're eager to correct moving forward after owning the League's top power-play percentage in the regular season at 30.8 percent.

But luckily, there's plenty of confidence that when their man advantage isn't at its strongest, the rest of the roster can rise up as they did in Monday's Game 1 victory.

"During the playoff time, you always need other guys stepping up.  It's not always going to be the same guys, and there's always going to be times where somebody else is the hero," Knoblauch said. "Draisaitl and McDavid, they're gonna be our heroes many times, but they can't be the heroes every single time.  There are nights when it just doesn't happen.  You need other guys to step up, and last night was a good example of that.  We got a win because our other guys really stepped up big when we needed them."