Oilers end skid, defeat Ducks in shootout

EDMONTON -- Cam Talbot made 33 saves to help the Edmonton Oilers end a four-game losing streak with a 2-1 shootout win against the Anaheim Ducks at Rogers Place on Thursday.
Kris Russell scored in the second period for Edmonton (18-20-3). Michael Cammalleri and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored in the shootout.
"I thought we were good from the start," Russell said. "It's a good sign, and it was good to do it in front of our fans. We owed them."

WATCH: [All Ducks vs. Oilers highlights]
Ryan Kesler scored and John Gibson made 33 saves for Anaheim (19-14-9), which had won three in a row. Rickard Rakell scored in the shootout.
"The guys worked hard on both sides of the puck and the goalies both played good," Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf said. "We both had opportunities, and it was just one of those hard-fought games."

Edmonton outshot Anaheim 13-2 in the first period.
"We didn't have a very good start; it was like we were skating with our boots on and they were playing with their skates on," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "We were playing catch-up, and if it wasn't for our goalie, he kept us in the hockey game and gave us a chance."
Russell scored at 11:58 of the second period to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead. Russell took a pass from Connor McDavid on a 3-on-1 rush and scored on a one-timer.
With the assist, McDavid ended a three-game point drought, the longest of his NHL career.
"You are going to go through stretches like that," McDavid said. "At other times, you aren't playing your best hockey and you are still finding a way to get points. Hockey is a funny game that way, but it finds a way of balancing itself out. It is obviously frustrating when you are getting chances and generating plays and not finding a way to find the net."
Kesler tied the game on the power play 17 seconds into the third period, tipping in a point shot from Jakob Silfverberg. The goal was Kesler's first of the season in his fifth game since returning from hip surgery.

Edmonton had the better scoring chances in the third despite being outshot 13-11 in the period.
Gibson made an excellent save against Nugent-Hopkins with 4:07 left to keep the game tied and then had Getzlaf slide into him, knocking them both into the net. While in the net, Getzlaf got in the way of Russell's shot from the slot.
"I made the first save and he made the second save, so it's good," Gibson said. "I think he just kind of fell on me and there were too many people in the net. It was tough to get up."

Ducks forward Antoine Vermette was assessed a high-sticking penalty on McDavid at 19:54 of the third, and the Oilers started overtime on the power play.
McDavid hit the crossbar at 1:59 of overtime.
Edmonton was awarded a second power play in overtime with 21.9 seconds remaining. Leon Draisaitl missed an open net on a one-timer after a cross-ice pass from McDavid.
"Connor showed tremendous leadership tonight," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. "He said, 'Follow me. I'm going to do it right. I'm going to do it fast, and you guys come along.' And they did."

Goal of the game

Russell's goal at 11:58 of the second period.

Save of the game

Talbot's save against Adam Henrique with 2:19 remaining in overtime.

Highlight of the game

Cammalleri's shootout goal.

They said it

"We battled back and we got a point in the game and we have to credit our goaltender and our power play, and special teams. We took two penalties in overtime that we killed off, and those are the types of things that show character of your team, that you're able to battle back and stay in the games." -- Ducks coach Randy Carlyle
"You can definitely feel there's a rivalry there; two big, heavy teams going at it down low in front of the net. Emotions can run high in a game like this, especially a tight game. We did a good job handling ourselves against a very good team." -- Oilers goalie Cam Talbot

Need to know

The Oilers
announced during the game
they acquired goaltender Al Montoya from the Montreal Canadiens for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. … Rakell's six-game goal streak (seven goals) ended.

What's next

Ducks: At the Calgary Flames on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, PRIME, NHL.TV)
Oilers: At the Dallas Stars on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; FS-SW, SNW, NHL.TV)