GAME RECAP: Ducks 6, Oilers 4 (Game 2)

EDMONTON, AB – Quacking back to even up the series.

Connor Murphy and Josh Samanski each collected their first career playoff goals, but the Edmonton Oilers lost the special teams battle on Wednesday to the Anaheim Ducks, who earned a split of the series with a 6-4 victory in Game 2 of their first-round series at Rogers Place.

"We've been in this situation a lot tied going on the road," Connor McDavid said. "We're comfortable on the road, we like playing on the road, and obviously we would've liked a better outcome and a better product tonight, but we're comfortable going on the road."

"It's playoffs, and we have to start going."

After scoring three times in the second period in Game 1 on Monday, the Ducks followed suit in Game 2 by notching even-strength, power-play and shorthanded goals in the middle frame to build a 4-1 advantage that would once again require the Oilers to try and rally their way back from a multi-goal deficit.

Tallies from Connor Murphy and Zach Hyman in the second period had the Oilers within one before Josh Samanski's first playoff goal in his playoff debut pulled them level at 4-4 in the third, but the comeback was undone with under five minutes left in regulation on Cutter Gauthier's second goal that came off a bad bounce off Leon Draisaitl's skate.

The Oilers finished 0-for-4 on the power play, also conceding the shorthanded marker to Ryan Poehling, while the Ducks went 2-for-3 with the man advantage to earn the edge in the special teams' battle for the second straight game in this series.

"Special teams were a big part of it," Zach Hyman said. "We are usually very good on the power play, and obviously, we were minus one, so that can't happen.

Poehling had two goals for the Ducks along with Gauthier, including the empty-netter that sealed the Ducks' split of the series as it shifts to Anaheim for Games 3 & 4 this coming Friday and Sunday.

Draisaitl had a goal and an assist to give him multiple points in each game this series, while Matt Savoie was also able to contribute his first career playoff point on a night of firsts for the Oilers in defeat.

The series will continue on Friday with Game 3 at Honda Center.

FIRST PERIOD

Leon Draisaitl gave the Oilers the lead with his first of the playoffs, but the special teams battle through four periods of the series continues to favour Anaheim after they scored on one of its two chances in the opening frame to make it 1-1 going into the intermission.

After Connor Ingram made a confident first save on Leo Carlsson coming over the blueline with speed and cutting into the slot for an early scoring chance, Edmonton was awarded the game's first power play when Cutter Gauthier batted the puck out of mid air and inadvertently put it over the glass.

The Oilers' top unit couldn't convert on a pair of back-door chances and blasts from Evan Bouchard before Jack Roslovic evened things up with 10 seconds left in the penalty with a trip on Jacob Trouba in pursuit of the puck below the goal line.

"You've got to give them credit for getting above," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said of the power play. "The faster we can play and the more they're not in formation, the more we can beat that pressure.  But I'm not quite sure exactly why it was breaking down."

Even after the return of Draisaitl in time for Game 1, Edmonton's power play would go 0-for-2 in the period to start the first round goalless on its first four chances, with the top unit still looking to recapture that chemistry that saw them finish top of the regular season with a 30.8 percent conversion rate.

"I think we're obviously a little bit rusty," Hyman said. "It's the first time we've been back, all five of us, in a little bit, and sometimes you just need the first one to drop. We've had chances, but we can be sharper and much cleaner."

The first eruption of Game 2 arrived at even strength for the Oilers courtesy of Draisaitl, who banked home his first goal of the postseason at 11:02 of the period by having his attempt at putting the puck on goal from the right side go in off the leg of Drew Helleson for a 1-0 lead.

After missing the last 14 games of the regular season, Draisaitl hasn't appeared to lose any of that offensive touch that saw the German record 97 points (35 goals) in 65 games, posting two assists in Game 1 and tallying his first of the postseason.

Draisaitl now has 53 goals through 98 career playoff games, which represents the second most by a player born outside of North America before reaching 100 career postseason contests behind former Oilers legend Jari Kurri (66). 

However, the Ducks were given the chance to equalize on the power play just over two minutes later, when Darnell Nurse was guilty of a careless roughing call in front of the net that led to Cutter Gauthier firing a long shot through a screen after the officials missed a potential high stick on Bouchard seconds earlier.

The visitors went 1-for-2 on the power play in the first 20 minutes, and there'd be more special teams' success for them on the other side of the intermission that would need the Oilers to find their resolve again as they did in Game 1 to respond to a strong second period from the high-flying Ducks.

SECOND PERIOD

Another crucial intermission talk awaited the Blue & Orange heading into the final frame after a different yet all-too-familiar second stanza saw the Ducks repeat their exploits from Game 1. But this time, Anaheim utilized their power play twice and received help from Edmonton's own man advantage in the form of a critical mistake from the captain.

"It was different in both games," Hyman said. "This middle period, there was a shorthanded goal and then a power play goal from them. They've been winning the special teams battle, and that's a big battle in the playoffs."

Just like they did in the series opener, the Ducks scored three times in the middle frame, including another on the power play and one while shorthanded, which were crucially followed up by tallies from Connor Murphy and Zach Hyman to keep the Oilers within striking distance going into the third period.

Just 2:13 into the middle stanza, defenceman Jacob Trouba was the second to find the back of the net for the Ducks from distance, once again utilizing a screen in front by Troy Terry by firing his long effort through bodies to beat Connor Ingram inside the right post.

Under three minutes later, a Matt Savoie tripping call in the neutral zone put Anaheim back on the man advantage, where they built their lead to 4-1 on Alex Killorn's lucky bounce that gave him a second chance to beat Ingram over the left pad.

"When our game gets a little bit slow, that's where we start to lose it a little bit," McDavid said. "I think you could see that early in the second period, but sped it up as it went on. When we play fast, we're tough to handle."

But Murphy's Law implies that anything that can happen will happen, and Connor Murphy's first-career playoff goal was the first catalyst in making that theory come true for the Oilers by cutting the lead to 4-2 with 8:14 to go in the period.

After Kasperi Kapanen showed great control to keep the puck in at the blueline, the puck made its way onto the tape of Draisaitl to find Murphy laterally across the zone to line up the perfect shot inside the left post through a screen set by Vasily Podkolzin for his first playoff goal in 11 career postseason contests.

Murphy (33 years, 27 days) became the oldest defenceman in franchise history at the time of his first career playoff goal, besting Steve Staios (32 years, 299 days), and scoring the first goal of the 2026 playoffs from the Oilers' blueline.

With the chance to equalize on the power play inside the final six minutes of the frame, what was a terrific opportunity for the Oilers to get their top unit up and running by scoring an equalizer ended up backfiring in a big way on a careless giveaway from their captain in the defensive zone.

After avoiding injury on a weird collision at the Ducks' blueline earlier in the period, McDavid would make the mistake of giving the puck away to Killorn across the ice at the bench that led to Ryan Poehling deflecting home his teammate's low shot-pass to restore the Ducks' two-goal advantage with 4:10 to go in the period.

"I just rolled up on a little bit. It was fine," McDavid said of avoiding injury.

"[Special teams] were the difference... I still thought we got looks. I still thought we had chances. But obviously, we've got to find a way to score.  Can't give up a shortie either."

McDavid has been held pointless in Games 1 & 2 of the series, with his urgency to make something happen leading to a mistake that gave the Ducks a 4-1 lead.

"I think he's putting a lot of pressure on himself," Knoblauch said. "He wants the team to do well, and he's a leader, and usually when we have success, he's a big part of that. There are stretches during the season when he hasn't been the best player, and there are nights when he hasn't been outstanding. It doesn't happen very often. I'm certain that he's going to find his game."

But Edmonton would be back within one before the break thanks to a fantastic no-look deflection from Zach Hyman, who was parked between the hashmarks to get his stick to Mattias Ekholm's low effort and return the deficit to 4-3 going into the third period.

THIRD PERIOD

Just like that, Josh Samanski had us back even at 4-4 with his own first career playoff goal, but there'd be heartbreak for the Oilers on a bad bounce in the final five minutes to even the series going back to Orange County.

The young German forward was making his playoff debut in place of the injured Adam Henrique on Wednesday and found the scoresheet in his first postseason appearance off some terrific work by his partners Matt Savoie and Jack Roslovic to level things up with 6:09 remaining in regulation.

Savoie showed dogged determination to strip the puck off Killorn and keep it in at the blueline, winning the crucial puck battle and having it dug free by Jask Roslovic before taking it down low and rounding Anaheim's net to find Samanski coming in to notch the equalizer off Dostal's shoulder and into the top corner.

After both of his regular-season goals weren't necessarily slick finishes, getting credit for some bouncing pucks that found their way in, this was one Samanski could definitely hang his hat on in his playoff debut.

But their hard work was undone by an unfortunate bounce that went off the skate of Draisaitl under a minute and a half later, with Bouchard's attempt at poking the puck away from danger going off the German's skate and popping loose to Cutter Gauthier to put home his second of the night for a late 5-4 Ducks' lead.

Pulling Ingram for the extra attacker didn't provide the spark that the Oilers needed to forge another late comeback, as Poehling finished off Anaheim's victory with an empty-netter with 1:10 left to go in the third period.