GAME RECAP: Oilers 6, Ducks 2

ANAHEIM, CA - That's more like it.
Two nights after getting dealt a disappointing 6-3 defeat by the Kings in Los Angeles, the Oilers travelled down Interstate 5 and took it to the Anaheim Ducks to the tune of a 6-2 victory.
"Obviously we needed to get back in the win column, that's the main thing," captain Connor McDavid, who had a goal and assist, said following the victory. "To put together a good game is always good and it's something to build off."
The Oilers were able to kick their brief two-game losing skid to the curb and will look to make it back-to-back Golden State successes when they visit the Sharks in San Jose on Friday.

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FIRST BLOOD

The new-look Oilers top line of Dylan Holloway, Connor McDavid and Kailer Yamamoto struck early, just 3:24 after the opening puck-drop, when Tyson Barrie made an effective pinch along the wall to intercept a Ducks pass and get the puck to McDavid behind the net.
The captain made a nifty, no-look backhand pass to find Holloway streaking to the net for the no-doubt one-timer past John Gibson. The rookie now has three goals on the season and two in his last four games, while McDavid extended his road point streak to 11 games, setting a new career high.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Captain Connor sent the plentiful showing of Oilers fans at Honda Center into a celebratory frenzy midway through the first period when he extended Edmonton's lead to 3-1 with a ridiculous goal. Yamamoto stole the puck from Cam Fowler in the Ducks zone and found McDavid cutting down the left side.
He started skating as if he was going to circle around the net but stopped sharply at the extended goal line, completely shedding Trevor Zegras who was trying to keep tabs on him. McDavid then darted back to the low slot and launched perfect backhand shot into the top corner over Gibson's glove for his 35th goal of the season and second point of the night.

Honourable mention to Leon Draisaitl who also put his elite skill on display late in the second period with the Oilers on the power play. The German superstar won the ensuing faceoff after the Ducks penalty and made his way to the net as Evan Bouchard sent a pass his way. The puck was headed towards he feet but Draisaitl quickly stuck his stick between his legs to make the redirection past Gibson for his 23rd goal and 63rd point of the season.

SAVE OF THE GAME

The top stop of the night from winning netminder Jack Campbell came in the final minute of the opening frame as the Oilers got a bit sloppy in their own zone and a loose puck landed on the stick of Max Comtois to the goalie's left. Campbell managed to stretch out his pad quickly to deny the prime scoring attempt and preserve Edmonton's 4-1 lead after 20 minutes.

TURNING POINT

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins hit the 20-goal plateau for the fifth time in his career with Edmonton's 2-0 goal just over a minute after Holloway opened the scoring. His low wrist shot deflected off Fowler's skate on its way to the net and settled just inside the far post past Gibson, who had lost sight of the puck after the skate interjection. The tough-luck goal deflated the Ducks and the Oilers took advantage with two more tallies in the first period en route to the lopsided victory.

TOP PERFORMER

Klim Kostin continued his impressive and somewhat unexpected season with back-to-back goals to pad Edmonton's lead, giving him five goals in his last seven games. The power forward, who was acquired from the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 9 in exchange for defence prospect Dmitri Samorukov, now has seven total tallies and 11 points in 27 appearances since getting recalled from the AHL's Bakersfield Condors on Nov. 9 after Evander Kane was injured on the road in Tampa. His two-goal night gave him a new career high in points as he had nine in 40 games with the Blues last season.

PARTING WORDS

McDavid on peppering the Ducks for 102 combined shots over their two meetings and not letting the Ducks into tonight's game:
"There's not really a rhyme or reason to this game. Sometimes you run into a hot goalie, and other nights the puck just seems to find a way in You look at Nuge's goal that kind of bounces in and around and finds a way in the net somehow. That happens some nights, and other nights feels like there's a brick wall in there. So obviously a tale of kind of two different games against these guys and like I said, it's important for us to get back into the win column."
Coach Woodcroft on the Oilers responding tonight for Wednesday's loss in LA:
"Yeah, it's nice to get the win. I thought the game the other day, one aspect of the game we didn't win was the special teams, and it was by a wide margin and didn't allow us to win. But there was some stuff in our five-on-five game that we liked. What I really liked about our team was our push and fight and passion for each other in that third period in LA, and I thought that kind of went into tonight's game. Tonight's game, I thought we controlled play from the start, got contributions from lots of different people and special teams were excellent tonight. It's a recipe for a good win for us."

Kostin on his strong play on a line with Nugent-Hopkins and Janmark:
"Right now I feel a little more confident than the start of the year. Like I said before, it's easy to play with those guys. With Nuge and Janny, we understand each other really well and we have cool chemistry. So yeah, it's easy to play with those guys."
Kostin on needing to string together wins in the second half of the season:
"Yeah, it would be nice, but we need to work for it. We need to put an effort. We need to just play smart."