GAME RECAP: Ducks 5, Oilers 3

ANAHEIM, CA – The Anaheim Ducks scored four unanswered goals on Sunday afternoon to end a seven-game losing streak against the Edmonton Oilers with a 5-3 victory at the Honda Center.

Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid each extended their point streaks to 11 games, connecting twice on the power play to help give the Oilers a 3-1 lead in the second period before the Ducks responded over the final one-and-a-half periods with four straight goals.

Former Oilers forward Ryan Strome notched the game-winner on a wrap-around with 2:36 remaining in regulation that crossed the goal line.

"Not our best," Draisaitl said. "I think we let off the gas a little bit after the first 10 or 13 minutes and kind of gave them a chance to get back into it."

Calvin Pickard made 27 saves for the Oilers and was charged with the defeat to end his four-game win streak, while Evan Bouchard recorded a goal and an assist.

The Oilers conclude their back-to-back California road trip with one out of a possible four points as they return home to host Utah Hockey Club at Rogers Place on New Year's Eve.

FIRST PERIOD

The Dynamic Duo continues to rack up points after extending each of their point streaks to 11 games on Draisaitl's league-leading 25th goal just over eight minutes into the opening frame set up by none other than McDavid.

On a four-on-three power play, Draisaitl quickly one-timed a cross-ice pass from McDavid that trickled over the goal line after Lukas Dostal got a heavy piece of his effort, giving Edmonton a 1-0 lead as Draisaitl became the first player in the NHL this season to reach the quarter-century for goals.

McDavid and Draisaitl were tracking down Mark Messier (1,034) and Glenn Anderson (906) for the third and fifth-most points in Oilers franchise history, respectively, needing only a few points apiece to pass them entering Saturday's final game of a back-to-back for the Oilers in California.

Just under four minutes later, Evan Bouchard was next to show off his wicked release by doubling the Oilers lead on a snipe that went under the crossbar on Dostal, leaving him no chance at stopping him from scoring his seventh goal of the season after he started the rush at his own team's blue line by denying the zone entry.

Bouchard had a goal and an assist for his 10th multi-point game of the season, which was the 54th of his career that's one short of tying Kevin Lowe (55) for the third most by a defenceman in franchise history.

Viktor Arvidsson and Connor Brown each produced assists on Bouchard's goal to extend their point streaks to three games (2G, 2A) and eight games (3G, 5A), with Brown having assists in three straight games.

Left-winger Cutter Gauthier got Anaheim back in it after weaving past Ty Emberson at the blue line and firing his shot five-hole on Calvin Pickard with 6:08 to go in the opening period.

Soon after, the Ducks then found themselves on a four-minute power play to finish the frame on a double minor for hick-sticking to Troy Stecher, leading to Pickard producing his biggest save of the period with a left-pad save on Jackson Lacombe with over a minute to go.

Strome hit the crossbar for the Ducks before the buzzer as Anaheim looked to build on Gautier's goal with 2:46 of power-play time left on Stecher's double minor after the intermission.

SECOND PERIOD

Despite Draisaitl delivering the Oilers a two-goal lead with his second power-play goal, the Ducks battled back from their second two-goal deficit by winning the five-on-five battles and limiting Edmonton to only six shots in the second period.

Near the midway mark of the middle frame, McDavid connected with Draisaitl again to make it 2-for-2 with the man advantage for the Oilers on Sunday through 40 minutes on the captain's quick pass from below the goal line that tied him with Mark Messier for the third-most points (1,034) in franchise history with a two-assist afternoon. Draisaitl's second goal leaves him one point behind Glenn Anderson (906) for the fifth on that list.

Including two power-play goals, the Oilers had killed off four penalties through two periods, with special teams being the main reason why they held a 3-1 passing the midway mark of the middle stanza despite getting heavily outshot.

Calvin Pickard made a handful of great saves shorthanded, including a wrap-around stop on Robby Fabbri, over the four kills that improved Edmonton's PK% to 91.1 percent (41-for-45) over their last 21 games. After the Oilers' early struggles with their power play, they've now gone 37.1 percent (13-for-35) over their last 14 games to pull themselves up to 14th overall in the NHL.

The Ducks dominated five-on-five in the period and got a lucky one to get within a goal on an unassisted wrist shot from Drew Helleson from the blueline, intercepting Pickard's rim along the boards and firing it back on the net and through the Oilers netminder from a distance.

Anaheim deserved to be tied when Robby Rabbri finished off a hard-working sequence from Mason McTavish to win the puck off Darnell Nurse at the blue line and open up a shooting chance for Fabbri coming into the slot.

The Oilers were outshot 17-8 in the second period with the game tied 3-3 through 40 minutes at the Honda Center.

THIRD PERIOD

"I thought we put in a strong effort in the third period," Knoblauch said. "But we shouldn't have been in that situation. When we're up two goals, that's a game that we ought to continue playing hard and I don't think we did."

For the second straight game, a former Oilers player would play a big part in their downfall.

With the Oilers still holding off the Ducks late in the period, Ryan Strome wrapped an attempt on goal against Pickard that the netminder looked to have kept out, but a coach's challenge would take a closer look at it and reveal it crossed the line to give the Ducks a 4-3 lead with 2:36 remaining.

Darnell Nurse lost his stick moments before to allow Strome to find the space needed to pick up a loose puck and jam it in at the near post.

"We lost a battle in the corner and one of our players lost his stick," Knoblauch said. "They were doing that all night, taking pucks to the net, and they had a few wraps and they capitalized on that last one."

With their net empty, the Oilers fought as long as they could to keep it out before Mason McTavish converted into an open cage with 58 seconds left, sealing the Ducks a hard-fought victory at the Honda Center that puts an end to a seven-goal losing run against the Oilers on home ice.