PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Ducks (Game 5)

The Edmonton Oilers look to stay alive in Game 5 of their first-round series against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday at Rogers Place.

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PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Ducks (Game 5)

ANAHEIM, CA – Backs against the wall, but not done yet.

The Edmonton Oilers know better than anyone that a series isn’t over until you’ve been beaten four times, so as they return to Oil Country for Game 5 on Tuesday at Rogers Place trailing the Anaheim Ducks three games to one, they’re going to need to rise to the occasion again to keep their playoff hopes alive.

"I think the energy level is there," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "I think we're ready.  Obviously, there has been a lot of hockey, but I don't think that should be warranted as an excuse."

Having been to two straight Stanley Cup Finals, there are no excuses being used in the Oilers' locker room over how much hockey has been played over the past three years, knowing that if they don't raise their energy levels on Tuesday and start playing with more desperation, their season is going to be over well before the ultimate goal.

The Oilers find themselves on the brink of elimination following Anaheim’s 4-3 come-from-behind victory in Game 4 on Sunday, losing on a painful finish 2:29 into overtime when Ryan Poehling’s attempted pass bounced off Darnell Nurse’s leg and through Tristan Jarry’s five-hole to barely cross the goal line to give the Ducks the victory.

The play was initially waved off, but the officials eventually called it a goal after a long discussion before it was upheld upon review, leaving the Oilers with no room for error moving forward into a must-win Game 5 at home.

Head Coach Kris Knoblauch will have the chance to make adjustments after his team's mistakes culminated in a third straight loss in this series despite scoring first, as they were often charged with untimely penalties that let the Ducks back into the contest with the help of their scorching-hot power play.

"Obviously, we are disappointed to be in this situation, and we have to change the way we're playing a little bit, make some adjustments, but also just trying not to make the mistakes at crucial times," Knoblauch said. "We've had leads in all four games, and at crucial moments, we make a mistake, and it leads to a change in the game.  There have been numerous penalties where we've got a lead, we take a penalty, and they score on the power play."

The Oilers took the lead only 38 seconds into the first period through Kasperi Kapanen before Ryan Nugent-Hopkins doubled it on the power play almost six minutes later, but the Ducks would begin pushing back following the midway mark of the frame after calling Tristan Jarry into action by registering 10 of the last 12 shots before the intermission.

Despite defending well at even strength, the Anaheim power play continues to be the deciding factor in this series, capitalizing on a pair of second-period penalties from Josh Samanski and Zach Hyman to make it 2-2 and improve to 6-for-12 in the series.

"Credit to them," Knoblauch said. "This season, I think they've set the NHL record for most come-from-behind wins in the last five or 10 minutes or something like that.  And obviously, there's no quit or belief that they're never out of a game. It's very important that we stay the course and not give those opportunities.:

Edmonton’s power play continued its revival on Evan Bouchard’s snipe 3:27 into the final frame to take a 3-2 lead, but Jeffrey Viel’s equalizer with six and a half minutes left in regulation set the stage for a quick end to overtime on Poehling’s unfortunate winner.

The Oilers took steps towards playing a better game on Sunday, but giving up chances to the Ducks’ power play hasn’t allowed them to gain any real traction in this series.

“I thought we'd played better defensively tonight,” Mattias Ekholm said post-game. “Obviously, we gotta stay out of the box and better on the kill, but five on five, I thought we took a step in the right direction. 

"A tough ending, but it’s seven games and first to four.  We have experience in these situations, and we have to go back home, win a game and go from there.”

Tristan Jarry made 34 saves for the Oilers after getting the start over Connor Ingram, and Coach Knoblauch said on MOnday that he hasn't decided on a starter for Game 5.