Anaheim is coming off a seven-day break between games after dispatching the Calgary Flames in a four-game sweep that ended with a 3-1 victory last Wednesday at Scotiabank Saddledome. Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, who scored the insurance marker with an empty-net goal in Game 4, shares the team lead in postseason scoring with Rickard Rakell and rookie defenseman Shea Theodore, all with five points. Theodore enters tonight's game ranked tied for second among NHL defensemen in scoring (5 points, 2g/3a) and co-leads in goals, while Rakell and Corey Perry are tied for sixth in the league in plus/minus (+6).
The Ducks enter tonight's game on a roll. They have gone 15-0-3 since March 12, which included an 11-0-3 mark in the regular season and an active 4-0 win streak in the playoffs. Anaheim's victories in Games 1 and 2 pushed its win streak on home ice to eight consecutive games (6 regular season, 2 playoffs). By virtue of Chicago and Minnesota getting eliminated in the First Round, the Ducks will have home ice advantage through the Western Conference Final if they get that far.
Anaheim currently ranks second among NHL teams in goals per game (3.50) and third in FOW% (53.4). For what it's worth, the Ducks are 12-0 in its last 12 playoff games and 15-1 in its last 16 when scoring three goals or more.
This marks the second time the Ducks and Oilers have met in the postseason, the first occurring in 2006 when they squared off in the Western Conference Final. Edmonton won the series in five games and went on to lose in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Final. Getzlaf and Perry are the only remaining players for either team from that 2006 series. Randy Carlyle was behind the bench for Anaheim at the time in his first trip to the playoffs as an NHL head coach.
Getzlaf led the Ducks in scoring during the five-game regular-season series against the Oilers, which saw Anaheim go 2-1-2. Getzlaf finished the season with seven points (1g/6a) against the Oilers and has 47 points (17g/30a) in 44 games all-time (playoffs not included). Leon Draisaitl led all players with eight points (6g/2a) in the five-game season series and scored two of his three game-winning goals in overtime.
Oilers captain Connor McDavid led his club in scoring during their six-game series victory over the San Jose Sharks in the First Round. McDavid recorded four points (2g/2a) in the series including an empty-net goal in the clinching 3-1 victory in Game 6. Oscar Klefbom (2g/1a), Mark Letestu (1g/2a) and Draisaitl (1g/2a) had three points apiece, while Cam Talbot went 4-2 despite being yanked in a 7-0 blowout loss in Game 4. Talbot, who set a franchise record for the most wins in a single season (42), recorded consecutive shutouts in Games 2 and 3 of the First Round, becoming the sixth Oilers goaltender to register a playoff shutout.
