Pat Pickens
Those who tuned in early to see if Connor McDavid would play in the Edmonton Oilers’ potential elimination Game 5 on Tuesday got the added bonus of catching all the important action from their season-saving win.
The Oilers overwhelmed the Anaheim Ducks early in their 4-1 win that sent the series back to Southern California for Game 6 on Thursday.
Edmonton scored three times on in its first eight shots over the first 10:13, chasing Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal before some American television viewers could switch channels after the Boston-Buffalo OT thriller. McDavid posted two points, for his third straight multi-point game, and Leon Draisaitl had two goals.
The Oilers Delivered an Early Knockout Punch in Game 5
The Oilers have scored first in every game in the series. They had built, and blown, 2-0 leads in two of the first four games.
But Edmonton finally found that third goal to knock out the Ducks on Tuesday. Anaheim has built its identity around coming from behind, but a three-goal advantage on the road is hard to overcome.
Vasily Podkolzin scored his second game-opening goal in the first period just 2:22 into the game, and Zach Hyman scored at 8:33 to make it 2-0.
“Probably the biggest thing was [the contribution from] our second line,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said, referencing the trio of Podkolzin, Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “Nuge’s line really got us going. I really thought that was the strong part of our game.”
Perhaps more importantly, the Oilers locked down the lead by playing defensively responsible and not giving up rush chances, which has been their Achilles heel in the series. Anaheim leads the playoffs in goals (21) and had scored at least three in every game until Tuesday.
But even though Anaheim outshot Edmonton 30-20, and had outshot-attempted the Oilers 49-14 over the final 40 minutes, the Ducks only got eight high-danger scoring chances. They were averaging about 12 per game over the first four games.
“We’ve had a few good starts in this series, and it’s a matter of holding the lead and I thought we did a good job doing that,” Oilers defenseman Even Bouchard said. “When our backs are against the wall, we play good hockey, and we did that tonight.”
The Ducks May Have Goaltending Issues
Dostal’s play has not gotten much talk because Anaheim is ahead in the series. But the case could be made Anaheim is winning in spite of its goaltender.
Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville shrugged off any doubts about Dostal in his postgame press availability, saying “we’re moving forward.” That would indicate Dostal will be in goal for Anaheim’s second straight potential clinching game.
But Dostal has been, statistically, the worst goalie in the playoffs so far. His minus-5.39 goals-saved above average and 4.19 goals-against average is 21st among 21 goalies to tend the net in the first round. His .864 save% is 19th.
The Oilers’ firepower can do that to elite goalies and superb defensive teams. Just look at how they ruined Jake Oettinger and the Dallas Stars when they scored three goals in the first 8:07 of their Campbell Bowl-clinching 6-3 win in the Western Conference final.
But the Ducks are going to need steadier goaltending if they are going to win this series. The Ducks may have won both games at Honda Center, but the Oilers have won six straight Western Conference playoff series and know what it takes to lock things down.
Anaheim will need to learn to do the same.
Game 6 is Thursday in Anaheim
The Pond will be rocking Thursday, and Quenneville was looking forward to seeing how his team responds to the opportunity to close out the Oilers.
“We’ve got to be ready for puck drop and take care of business,” Quenneville said. “That is playing the right way for 60 minutes. We’re way more effective when we’re playing normal hockey instead of run and gun.”
The Oilers also are motivated to force a Game 7 back in Edmonton, where McDavid feels the pressure would shift back to Anaheim.
“You have to be grateful just getting to the next day, [but] all we did is survive one more day,” McDavid said. “The pressure is still on us, but it’s a big game for them too. I’m sure they’ll be feeling that too. Close out games are tough in their building. I’m sure they’re not going to want to come back to Edmonton. Pressure on them, but we’ve got to find a way to survive another day.”
