Ducks mount a thrilling comeback, fueled by crucial power-play goals and late-game heroics to secure a dramatic overtime victory and a commanding series lead.
With a 2-1 series lead, the Anaheim Ducks hosted the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday evening with hopes of heading back to Edmonton on Tuesday with a chance to close out a playoff series for the first time in nine years.
Anaheim seized the opportunity they earned, grabbing home ice advantage in the series by splitting the opening two games in Edmonton and returning to Orange County to notch another on Friday.
Edmonton made a change in net for Game 4, electing to start Tristan Jarry over Connor Ingram, who had started games 1-3. Ingram was far from the primary reason the Oilers were trailing in the series, but head coach Kris Knoblauch made the move regardless.
The Oilers also got depth center Jason Dickinson to return to their lineup, a Game 1 hero who missed Games 2 and 3 with a lower-body injury.
The Ducks went with the exact lineup that earned them their last two victories, with captain Radko Gudas still sidelined with a lower-body injury. Here’s how the Ducks lined up to start this game:
Gauthier-Carlsson-Terry
Killorn-Granlund-Sennecke
Kreider-Poehling-McTavish
Viel-Washe-Moore
LaCombe-Trouba
Mintyukov-Carlson
Hinds-Helleson
Lukas Dostal got the start for the Ducks and saved 24 of 27 shots. Tristan Jarry made his series debut in Edmonton’s crease and stopped 34 of 38.
Game Notes
The Ducks were down early, yet again, as Edmonton pushed back hard out of the gate and were determined to play a more streamlined, north-south, chip-and-chase style game. They scored two goals in the game’s first seven minutes, and the Ducks were forced to mount another comeback victory.
A retaliatory push from the Ducks gave way to two power play goals in the second, and the two teams took a 2-2 game into the second intermission. The Oilers answered again with a power play goal of their own, and the Ducks’ depth scoring notched the game-tying goal with 6:29 left in the game, sending it to overtime.
A seemingly harmless play down the left wall ended with Ryan Poehling throwing a puck in Chris Kreider’s direction at the top of the crease. The puck bounced off Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse’s back skate and behind Jarry.
After a lengthy review, it was determined that it was a confirmed goal, and the Ducks will take a 3-1 series lead back to Edmonton for Game 5.
“We just want to play hockey and play it the right way, play playoff hockey. We got exposure playing in overtime tonight,” Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said after the game. “We’ve got games where we’ve been on the line in all four games, right to the end. I think that’s helped, been beneficial. We’ve had several games during the regular season that represent that type of game.
“We’re using everybody, everybody’s contributing in their ways, and that balance some nights can help you. Sometimes you can get deep, deep in overtime, and it can help you as well, but we’re comfortable with just about anybody at any time of the game. We scored a couple clutch goals late in the game with guys that just do the right things.”
Lukas Dostal-Dostal hadn’t been able to and hadn’t necessarily needed to “steal” the Ducks a game in this series to date. In this game, as the Ducks were mounting their comeback, Edmonton still managed to play a relatively attacking style and continued to pressure for offense.
Amid the comeback, Edmonton found ways to manufacture numerous odd-man rushes and shot attempts from dangerous ice, including two semi-breaks from Connor McDavid, and Dostal made roughly half a dozen clutch saves and made many of them seem routine. His rebound control and positioning, as they normally are, were stellar down the stretch and limited any second-chance sequences.
Adjustments-As mentioned, Edmonton opted for a more streamlined attacking style, relying on simple outs and a forecheck to generate their early offense. The Ducks counter-adjusted with a simplified approach of their own, causing turnovers with smart, responsible forechecks and feeding points with low-to-high cycles sequences and bodies at the front of the net.
Power Play-Anaheim’s power play went 2-4 in this game, and it finally seems like assistant coach Jay Woodcroft has two cohesive and dangerous units that attack in specific ways. On Jackson LaCombe’s unit, the top of their umbrella drives chances, with Mason McTavish and LaCombe working to open seams to Cutter Gauthier on the right flank. He was afforded ample time and space, largely due to the work from McTavish and LaCombe on the Ducks’ first goal, and he displayed what makes him a lethal scorer in the NHL.
John Carlson’s unit is more reliant on precision and movement among the four low forwards. The Ducks’ second goal was an example of a sequence they practice tirelessly, a give-and-go out of the corner with Mikael Granlund and Leo Carlsson, which can either create a dangerous look heading straight toward the net or open lanes back to the point or to the far side flank forward (Troy Terry).
The Ducks will look to win their first series since the second round in 2017, a seven-game win against (ironically) the Edmonton Oilers, as they’ll travel to Edmonton for a 7 pm PST puckdrop on Tuesday.