|
 Brushing off two first-period deficits, the Ducks rode a
record-breaking performance from an unexpected source to defeat the Oilers 5-2 on Friday night.
Defenseman Ben Lovejoy set an Anaheim franchise record by scoring
two goals in 2:43 late in the first period. The game-winning goal
came with just five seconds remaining in the opening frame, giving
Lovejoy the first two goal game of his career. Both scores were
essentially identical, slap shots from the right point approximately
50 feet from the Edmonton goal.
Lovejoy is in the middle a whirlwind week — his performance Friday
coupled with the birth of his second child Tuesday made the
achievement more special.
"I just tried to hit the net," said Lovejoy. "Two shots, two goals,
it's been an awesome couple of days. I would love to keep it going,
it's pretty special."
The production from Lovejoy is one example of why the Ducks have run
off multiple winning streaks in a very competitive Western
Conference. In its last two games against Edmonton and San Jose,
Anaheim registered 11 goals but only one from the high-scoring duo
of center Ryan Getzlaf and winger Corey Perry.
"Corey and Ryan were not going as good as they normally do," said
Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau. "When they're not going you need to pick
up the slack and you get help from everywhere."
While he wasn't heavily tested after the first period, Ducks
goaltender Jonas Hiller continued his assault on the Anaheim record
book by stopping 16 shots to extend his winning streak to 10 games.
The 10 consecutive victories is a franchise record for an Anaheim
backstop while the last NHL goaltender to turn the trick was
Chicago's Ray Emery from Jan. 10-March 6, 2013.
Anaheim (30-8-5) remained atop the NHL's Pacific Division with the
victory and became just the third NHL team in 34 years to start a
season with a home standings point streak of 18 games-or-more. The
two others are San Jose (20-0-2 in 2008-09) and Philadelphia
(unbeaten streak of 19-0-7 in 1979-80).
Edmonton (13-26-5) got goals by center Boyd Gordon and winger Nail
Yakupov, but dropped its fourth in a row and lost for the 10th time
in the last 12 games. Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 32 shots as
the Oilers wound up winless on a three game road trip and remain
last in the Western Conference.
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"We have to find a way to get results," said Gordon. "We
can't hang our heads and feel sorry for ourselves. We just need
to bear down and get some wins."
The lone bright spot for the Oilers was their penalty kill,
keeping the Ducks scoreless in seven attempts with the man
advantage. Edmonton coach Dallas Eakins looks at that statistic
negatively, insisting penalty kill efficiency to that degree is
a burden on his team.
"We can't spend 16 minutes in the penalty box and expect to win
the game," Eakins said. "There were some questionable calls but
if we are going to spend almost a full period in the box, it's
going to be a rough night."
The Oilers opened the scoring when Gordon flipped a backhand
shot past Hiller just 35 seconds into the contest. Gordon's
eighth goal came off a feed from behind the Anaheim net by
winger Ryan Smyth, but Anaheim winger Kyle Palmieri evened the
game just 11 seconds later with an unassisted goal, his eighth
of the season.
Edmonton retook the lead on Yakupov's eighth goal of the season,
a rebound off a goalmouth scramble with wingers David Perron and
Taylor Hall earning assists at 11:06.
Anaheim took control in the last minute of the second period
when Ducks forward Tim Jackman doubled his team's margin with
his second goal of the season. Winger Andrew Cogliano provided
an insurance goal at 11:16 of the third period on an unassisted
breakaway.
NOTES: Edmonton did not dress RW Jordan Eberle, D Corey Potter
and D Anton Belov. ... Oilers LW Ryan Smyth's 384 career goals
places him two short of entering the top 100 all-time NHL goal
scorers and his 124 power-play goals trail only Wayne Gretzky
and Glenn Anderson in Edmonton franchise history. ... Edmonton
RW Taylor Hall scored 100 points in his last 100 games. ...
Anaheim scratched C Daniel Winnik, D Bryan Allen and LW Patrick
Maroon. ... With NHL realignment changing matchups, the Ducks
and Oilers will meet five times this season. It's the first time
since the 1998-99 season the teams played more than four matches
in a regular season. ... Ducks LW Andrew Cogliano played in his
501st consecutive game and has not missed game since debuting
for Edmonton on Oct. 4, 2007. Cogliano is the only the fourth
player in NHL history to play 500 or more straight games at the
start of his career.
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