Leon Draisaitl Leads the Oilers to Victory Over the Ducks, Setting Up a Game 6 Showdown

Oilers Stave Off Elimination with 4-1 Victory Over Ducks

EDMONTON, Canada — The Edmonton Oilers secured a crucial 4-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night, with Leon Draisaitl netting two goals and Evan Bouchard contributing three assists. This victory allows the Oilers to stay alive in the best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series, which now stands at 3-2 in favor of the Ducks.

The Oilers previously faced difficulties in the series, having relinquished six leads in the first four games. Vasily Podkolzin and Zach Hyman also found the net, while Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each recorded two assists. Remarkably, Edmonton boasts an 18-3 record when scoring first in elimination games.

For the Ducks, Alex Killorn scored the only goal of the night, cutting into Edmonton’s early lead.

Edmonton’s Connor Ingram stopped 29 shots, while Ville Husso came on in relief of starting goalie Lukas Dostal, who allowed three goals on nine shots.

The Oilers opened the scoring just 2:22 into the game, with Podkolzin beating Dostal high for his second postseason goal. Hyman made it 2-0 at the 8:33 mark of the first period, redirecting a point shot through Dostal’s legs. Draisaitl then extended Edmonton’s lead to 3-0 just 1:14 later, tipping in a shot from Bouchard, leading to Dostal’s early exit.

The Ducks answered when Killorn scored on the power play at 8:26 of the second period, marking his third playoff goal and extending his points streak to four games. However, Draisaitl quickly responded with a power-play goal, tying Wayne Gretzky’s franchise record for postseason power-play goals at 23.

Since 2022, Edmonton has played the most playoff games in the NHL, totaling 80, which is two more than the Florida Panthers, who defeated the Oilers in the last two Stanley Cup Finals but failed to qualify this season.

Bouchard, participating in his 80th playoff game, recorded his 88th point, placing him in a tie for third among players with that many games, behind only Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey. McDavid’s impressive performance has also propelled him to 63 postseason points, placing him second in NHL history for most points while trailing in a playoff series, just behind Gretzky.

Game 6 of the series is set for Thursday night at the Honda Center as the Oilers aim to tie the series.