With the win, Anaheim snapped a nine-game road winless skid and improved to 8-20-3 overall on the season.
"When you're a team like we are right now in a kind of full rebuild mode it is tough to sustain it, but that's our goal every night," Eakins said. "I do think we're better than our record, but our record is our record and we own it."
The Ducks will face a tough test in the trip finale, squaring off against the Oilers and their explosive duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Currently first and second in the league in scoring, McDavid and Draisaitl are the only NHL players to already eclipse 50 points on the season.
The Oilers (17-13-1, 35 points) are tied for third in the Pacific Division and sit fourth by point percentage (.565), looking to bounce back from a hotly contested and somewhat controversial overtime loss Thursday in St. Louis. After the Blues had tied the game in the final minute of regulation, it appeared Draisaitl's clinching goal had secured the extra standings point for the visitors, but an offside review determined McDavid had entered the zone early, nulliyfing the game-winner. St. Louis' Jordan Kyrou then scored the only goal of the shootout, earning an unlikely win for the Blues, who were twice on the brink of defeat.
"In the end, we didn't get the job done,"
Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft told media Friday
. "We're going to use it as a growth opportunity. My focus on what happened yesterday is in the rearview mirror. We've beat that game right up, we've studied it, we've had our meetings and everything like that, so we're going to take it with us as we go forward. Hopefully, it makes us better.
"What I've learned in my time as a coach is that just like a parent, you can't be a helicopter parent and you can't be a helicopter coach. We believe we had the right people on the ice. We didn't get the job done, but we try and arm our players with the tools they need to be successful in every situation. Last night, were made to pay when we made a mistake."
The Oilers appear ready to welcome back forward Warren Foegele to the lineup Saturday as Woodcroft confirmed the fifth-year winger is available to return from a 10-game absence. Foegele, acquired from Carolina in an offseason trade prior to the 2021-22 season, has not played since colliding with Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck in the neutral zone on Nov. 26.
"I've been working really hard with the staff here trying to get healthy and it's been a good couple weeks. I'm just waiting for the call," Foegele said. "I thought I was trending in the right direction, so that's what kind of makes it a little bit frustrating. But it's good to be back."
The Ducks and Oilers will play a four-game season series, returning to Edmonton on Apr. 1 and meeting at Honda Center on Jan. 11 and Apr. 5.
