The Anaheim Ducks returned home from a disappointing 0-2 road trip to Western Canada to host the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night at Honda Center. The Ducks entered this game hoping to avoid losing their fourth of five games and return to within a game of .500 on the season.
Game #77: Ducks vs. Oilers Gameday Preview
The Oilers came to Anaheim, severely plagued by the injury bug. They were without their two megastar centers, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, and number one defenseman Mattias Ekholm. Edmonton currently sits in third place in the Pacific division.
Jacob Trouba missed his second consecutive game with a lower-body injury. Oliver Kylington continues to assume his spot in the lineup next to Olen Zellweger. Brett Leason was inserted into the lineup to replace Jansen Harkins on the fourth line.
Lukas Dostal got the start for the Ducks and was sensational, saving 45 of 47 shots in this game.
“The last game (against Vancouver), there were some unfortunate bounces,” Dostal said after the game on his bounce-back performance. “Some tips went in and I didn’t have an idea it was in. That’s what’s natural, you have to be strong in your mind and just flush it out, trust your craft, trust yourself, and trust your teammates.”
Olivier Rodrigue got his first career start for the Oilers in this game and stopped 18 of 21 shots.
Here are my notes from this game:
Defensive Zone Coverage-As has been typical of the Ducks this season, they spent a lot of time in the defensive zone, surrendering the perimeter and losing chases to the wall to retrieve.
The weak side net front defenseman didn’t stray too far from the top of the crease to chase their assignment to the perimeter. They had lost several battles at the top of the crease over the last handful of games, so this seemed an adjustment in that regard. They were less leaky but had trouble killing plays promptly to get pucks out of the defensive zone with possession.
“I think they had more urgency,” Ducks head coach Greg Cronin said after the game. “I think they were more precise. They were more aggressive. We won the game because our penalty killing was led by our goalie, who was the best player on the ice.”
Cutter Gauthier-Gauthier played 17:28 in this game, including 1:11 on the power play and 2:47 on the penalty kill. His skating has potentially become more of a weapon than his shot, as he’s burning defenders wide and beating them to soft ice to present himself as a dangerous option.
“Just using my speed,” Gauthier said after the game when asked what was working for him. “The first one was a fortunate play, Leo picking off that pass there, and he’s a great playmaker, so I just tried to find an open lane there. Great pass by him.
“I just tried to build up my speed,” he continued when discussing his second goal. “It was a neutral zone regroup there, and I started feeling pretty good. I told Helly (Drew Helleson) to feed me, so he made a great pass to me, and I thought I had (Bouchard) pretty beat with the gap. I was able to beat him wide and make a nice move in tight.”
Penalty Kill-The Oilers didn’t have their most potent weapons with the man advantage, but they were just as active throughout the zone, interchanging and moving off puck to open ice. The Ducks were clean on their rotations and allowed Dostal to track and see shots from the perimeter. The utilization of more skilled players like Gauthier and Leo Carlsson has added to the closing ability as they translate their offensive IQ to the defensive side of the puck to pounce on pass attempts and pressure attackers into mistakes.
The Ducks will next host the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, to whom they lost 4-1 on April 3.