Oilers Have to Get Back to "Boring" Hockey vs Run-and-Gun Ducks

The Edmonton Oilers have been here before. Down but not out in past playoff series, being behind 2–1 is nothing new for a group that, frankly, seems to find its footing after being backed into a corner.

Unfortunately, something this time feels a little different.

The Oilers treated much of the 2025-26 regular season like a jog—before a standings scare forced them to start picking up the pace. Now, as they try to turn that playoff race jog into a run, and eventually find their sprinting legs, the finish line looks awfully far away.

To be blunt, the energetic and inspired Anaheim Ducks are making the clearly struggling and somewhat careless Oilers look gassed.

An Oilers team that came into Game 3 knowing that they couldn't keep trading chances with the high-scoring, faster, and younger Ducks did exactly that. In an attempt to play firewagon hockey, the Oilers got burned, 7-4. 

"We gotta make sure we value the defensive side of the puck. It's gonna be hard to win games when you let in six or seven,' said Mattias Ekholm. Edmonton has allowed 16 goals against in three games. That can't happen, but it is because the Oilers are refusing to play the kind of hockey they know they're supposed to. 

"You can help their speed or deter their speed, depending on how you play. I think we're helping their speed right now," added Zach Hyman.

When asked how the Oilers can bring the pace down and take the style of game the Ducks like to play away from them, Hyman said it was time to simplify things. "We need to play boring hockey."

To say the Oilers need to play boring is not to suggest they shy away from using their speed and skill. After all, Edmonton doesn't come back and win this series if Connor McDavid doesn't find the dynamic level his teammates and fans have become acustomed to seeing. The saame goes for Evan Bouchard, Hyman, Jack Roslovic and others. 

No, boring hockey means valuing what kept the Oilers in the mix after the Olympic break—suppressing chances against, being responsible, and limiting turnovers. Right now, Edmonton has forgotten that’s what wins playoff games. They've forgotten it's no longer October.

This group needs to clamp down, at least against a team like the Ducks, which is proving it has more firepower at the moment.

Friday night's game was full of bad decisions, costly mistakes, and rookie-like choices that an experienced team like the Oilers should know to avoid. Unlike at the start of the regular season, the Oilers can't afford to pace themselves. The runway is much shorter now. And, if they look past this Anaheim team, there may be no second round to turn that jog into a sprint. 

As it stands, the Oilers have already forced themselves into making some tough decisions ahead of Game 4.

Do they stick with Connor Ingram -- who looked great at the end of the regular season, but now knows what it feels like to be in the net for an Oilers team that leaks chances against in odd-man rushes? Or, do they go with Tristan Jarry? The latter is a tough choice given that the coach and his teammates don't seem to trust him all that much. The 

So, too, how do the Oilers feel about their lines? They stacked the top line in Game 3, to little success. Do they run it back? Edmonton can't really go with their nuclear option of McDavid and Draisaitl, because, with Jason Dickinson questionable and Adam Henrique out, they lack the centers to fill in the gaps. 

So again, the answer is boring hockey. 

Try to slow down this Ducks team and force them to play a game they don't like. These high-scoring affairs are doing the Oilers no favors. That means picking up a 2-1 or 3-2 win to even the series back at two games apiece. 

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