GAME RECAP: Ducks 4, Oilers 3

EDMONTON, AB - Put out an APB on Lukas Dostal for grand larceny.
The Anaheim goaltender was exceptional between the pipes, turning away 46 of 49 Oilers shots on the evening, and backstopping the Ducks to a 4-3 victory on Saturday afternoon. The 22-year-old stood on his head for most of the third period, making several huge stops on a late Oilers power play to help steal the victory for the California team.
"In terms of the collective defending, anytime you can hold a team under to the amount of shots that we held them today, you expect to win the game, especially when you pour 49 on the opposite net and the types of chances are different," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said after the game.
Altough the Oilers were able to limit the Ducks to just 17 shots against, a couple defensive errors were capitalized on by the visitors and more often than not, they ended up behind starting goaltender Stuart Skinner.
"We feel that in tonight's game, we made some critical errors that if you want the two points you can't make against any team in the National Hockey League," Woodcroft said.
The Oilers saw goals by Darnell Nurse, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid, while Tyson Barrie extended his assist streak to six games and has recorded 12 points in his last eight contests.
The Oilers will look to clean their game up as they head back out on the road for a quick road trip, starting Monday against the Nashville Predators and wrapping up on Wednesday versus the Dallas Stars.

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FIRST BLOOD

That was more like the Darnell Nurse Oilers fans know and love.
The defender opened the scoring on the evening, firing a wrist shot to the point that made its way by Lukas Dostal for his fifth goal of the season.
Nurse was coming off a tough effort on Thursday night against the Blues where two of his turnovers lead directly to Blues goals. The defenceman bore the brunt of the blame himself in the post-game press conference, while Head Coach Jay Woodcroft reiterated, they win and lose as a team.
Nurse currently leads all Oilers players in plus/minus with a plus-10 rating and came into tonight's contest leading the team with 24:02 minutes logged per game.

GOLD MEDAL MEMORIES

Rogers Place has been pretty kind to Ducks third-overall pick Mason McTavish during his young career.
The 19-year-old helped open the scoring for the Ducks, taking both Oilers defenders with him before sliding a feed to Connor Carrick for the quick tap-in goal.
The last time he was at Rogers Place, McTavish famously swiped a Topi Niemela tip off Team Canada's goal line to save the day for the 2022 World Junior squad. Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Kent Johnson scored the game winner moments later to lead Canada to their 19th Gold medal at the tournament - with McTavish subsequently named the tournament's MVP.
McTavish currently sits third on the Ducks in scoring in his rookie season with 18 points (4G, 16A) in 32 games.

STROME-COOKING

Ryan Strome seems to love playing his former team.
Midway through the second period, the Ducks forward intercepted an Oilers pass and sauntered in on the breakaway on Stuart Skinner, roofing the shot by the goaltender's glove to give Anaheim a 3-1 advantage.
The goal extended his point streak over his former club to five games, with three goals and five assists over that stretch. In 100 games with the Blue & Orange, Strome recorded 36 points. Since then, the 29-year-old has registered 212 points in 295 contests between the Rangers and Ducks.

TURNING POINT

Another game, and another missed clearing opportunity that cost the Oilers.
It was a giveaway by Evan Bouchard six minutes into the third period ended up in the back of the Oilers net less than 10 seconds later. The goal came from a rather innocuous shot from defenceman John Klingberg, who floated the puck from the half wall off Skinner's far post and behind the screened Oilers keeper, giving the Ducks a 4-3 advantage in the final frame.
"I think the mistakes, that turnover you make, are big ones. They usually end up in the back of our net, leaving Skinner out to dry a little bit here," Bouchard said. "But like I said, there are turnovers, at least for myself, that need to get cleaned up."

POWER-PLAY PERFORMANCE

The Oilers top-ranked power play continues their scorching hot start to the season.
Edmonton had been peppering Ducks starter Lukas Dostal with shots through two periods, but the Anaheim goaltender had been standing tall, holding on to the visitors 3-1 advantage.
A late cross-checking penalty by Trevor Zegras allowed the Oilers to creep back into the contest. It was Ryan Nugent-Hopkins standing on the doorstep who buried the rebound opportunity past Dostal to trim the deficit to a single goal entering the final period.
The marker was Nugent-Hopkins' 15th of the season, and it opened the floodgates for the Oilers offence. Edmonton ramped up the pressure in the Ducks offensive zone, forcing the California club to take a pair of early penalties to start the third period.
The Oilers captain made them pay, burying a Draisaitl cross-crease pass by Dostal for his 28th goal of the season. McDavid is now on a 12-game point streak with 12 goals and 15 assists over that stretch.

PARTING WORDS

Head Coach Jay Woodcroft on the overall result of the game:
"I think we poured 49 shots on net. I thought their goaltender played pretty well and I thought we can do a better job on the goals against for us. I thought there was compete and offensive chances for, but what we gave them was within our control and we can do a better job."
Woodcroft on Evan Bouchard's night:
"I think he's a young D-man that's going through a stretch where simplicity might be his way out of it, rather than complexity -- simple plays with the puck, simple reads with the puck, but he's a young man that's learning his way in the National Hockey League. Unfortunately, those chances against ended up in our net and the margins were thin today."
Woodcroft on getting more contributions throughout the lineup:
"We're looking for contributions, and we had some people with grade-A chances on their tape. Sometimes the other team's goalie gets a say in it. Their goalie played well tonight, and other times we can just be sharper. I think back to the start of the game, we're up 1-0 and I saw a yawning cage open that we weren't sharp enough on offensively. We didn't bear down in that situation."
Stuart Skinner on the feel of tonight's game:
"Felt like there's a couple of bad bounces that came our way. I just thought we just couldn't get the job done tonight. For me, it was kind of just one of those games."
Skinner on the Oilers defence limiting the shots against:
"Playing in those games, I think are tough for a goalie. You got to try to stay mentally in it. I know in the third period, I don't know if you guys know how many shots they got, but one or two, and I was doing nothing out there in the third period. I mean, that's a good sign for our team, that we're doing a good job keeping the puck in their end."
Evan Bouchard on the results of the game:
"We wanted to come out strong. We knew these are two points that we really wanted and unfortunately, we didn't get."
Leon Draisaitl on if the Oilers generated enough offence:
"Not over the 60 minutes, but I thought in the third, we obviously created numerous chances, but it shouldn't even get to that situation."