LDN - Sports

Draisaitl scores twice in Oilers' 4-0 victory over Ducks

[January 26, 2017] ANAHEIM, Calif. -- By continuing his torrid offensive surge, Leon Draisaitl enabled the Edmonton Oilers to move within two points of first place in the NHL's Pacific Division.

Draisaitl scored two goals to lead the Oilers to a 4-0 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night in front of a sellout crowd of 17,174 at Honda Center.

Connor McDavid recorded his league-leading 57th point on his 40th assist for the Oilers (27-15-8), who used their sixth win in seven games to move within one point of the second-place Ducks (27-15-9) and within two of the first-place San Jose Sharks in the Pacific Division.

"To beat them in their rink is really big for us," Draisaitl said. "Every point we can get is huge for us."

Edmonton will play its final game before the All-Star break on Thursday night in San Jose.

"They're all going to be important from here on out," Oilers right winger Zack Kassian said. "Our division is so tight and you can't take any nights off."

With five goals and 10 points in his past nine games -- including two goals and five points in his previous four -- Draisaitl now leads Edmonton with 19 goals, matching his career high.

"Playing with Connor makes it a lot easier," Draisaitl said. "He's such a smart player. I think we complement each other really well. Because he's so fast, it pushes me to keep up with the play and try to make those little plays to him at full speed."

Kassian and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored for the Oilers. Goalie Cam Talbot stopped 26 shots for his fourth shutout.

Goalie John Gibson made his first appearance in two games and finished with 19 saves for the Ducks. Gibson left the first period of Saturday night's road game against the Minnesota Wild because of an upper-body injury.

"We didn't play well with the puck, and we haven't done that in a while," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "We didn't have much of a net presence, either. We were one and done."

Draisaitl's 18th goal gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead 5:33 into the second period. A pass from Anaheim defender Kevin Bieksa hit Draisaitl's skates in the Ducks' zone. The German winger then passed to McDavid at the top of the slot to start a give-and-go.

McDavid returned the puck to Draisaitl, who stationed himself near the right post. Bieksa fell on the ice to block Draisaitl's first shot, but Draisaitl converted the rebound under Bieksa's chest and past Gibson.

The Oilers then exploited two more turnovers late in the period to score twice within 1:49 and build a 3-0 lead.

[to top of second column]

Oilers goalie Cam Talbot (33) blocks a shot against the Anaheim Ducks during the second period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Anton Slepyshev deflected Bieksa's pass in the Anaheim zone to Milan Lucic, who executed a drop pass that Nugent-Hopkins turned into his 11th goal, a wrist shot from the top of the slot under Gibson's right leg with 2:05 remaining in the second period.

Then, with 16 seconds left, Kassian scored his fourth of the season. Mark Letestu began the scoring play by sweeping the puck away from the Ducks' Cam Fowler and banking it off the right-wing boards in Edmonton's zone. Kassian beat Anaheim's Nick Ritchie and Antoine Vermette to the puck, then converted a backhand inside the right post.

"Against a highly skilled team like that, you have to manage the puck better much we did," Fowler said. "We left our goaltender out to dry and took some momentum out of our sails."

Draisaitl ended the scoring 1:34 into the third period by firing a shot from the left circle off Gibson's left skate for his 19th goal and his 10th point in nine games.

Talbot kept the Ducks from scoring first 9:09 into the game, when he used his blocker to stop Ritchie's wrist shot during a 2-on-1 breakaway.

NOTES: Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky was among those in attendance. ... Edmonton scratched D Eric Gryba, LW Jujhar Khaira and C Anton Lander. ... Anaheim scratched D Shea Theodore and RW Jakob Silfverberg (head). ... Ducks C Nate Thompson began a long-term rehabilitation assignment with San Diego (AHL). Thompson has been on injured reserve since tearing his Achilles tendon in July. ... Ducks C Kalle Kossila made his NHL debut after being recalled from San Diego. ... Anaheim lost RW Stefan Noesen off waivers to the New Jersey Devils.

Back to top