ANAHEIM — The Ducks twice trailed by two goals and faced another deficit late, but prevailed against the Edmonton Oilers, 6-5, on Wednesday night in their first bout after the Olympic break.
Welcome back to Honda Center, folks.
They leapfrogged Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers for second place in the Pacific Division in the process and earned Coach Joel Quenneville his 1,000th career NHL win, making him the second coach to accomplish that feat after Scotty Bowman (1,244).
The Ducks also welcomed back Leo Carlsson, who had a goal and two assists in his first action since Jan. 10 (thigh surgery). He set up Alex Killorn’s power-play goal and Cutter Gauthier’s game-winner. Beckett Sennecke, Ian Moore and Olen Zellweger also scored for the hosts, while Chris Kreider chipped in two assists. Lukáš Dostál stopped 22 shots for his ninth win in his past 10 decisions.
Matt Savoie led the way for Edmonton with a goal and two assists. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evan Bouchard notched a goal and an assist apiece. Zach Hyman and Jack Roslovic also scored. McDavid and Mattias Ekholm each contributed two assists. Tristan Jarry had a forgettable night in the Edmonton net, but Connor Ingram was saddled with the loss.
The Ducks completed their thrilling comeback with 1:14 displayed on the game clock. Carlsson zipped a seam pass for Gauthier, which initially failed to connect. Gauthier recovered the puck and knifed it past Ingram for the game-winner.
Edmonton claimed the lead for the third time at the 5:53 mark of the third period, as an eventful power play that nearly saw both teams score was winding down, but the Ducks knotted the game anew 46 seconds later.
The Ducks equalized when Andrew Mangiapane missed a sterling opportunity at one end and Sennecke created one brilliantly at the other. He broke the Ducks out with a pass and then received the puck back, toe-dragging his way into the slot for his 19th goal, tops among NHL rookies. That chased Jarry from a tie game.
Edmonton had gotten Savoie’s third point and first goal of the tilt. He mopped up the mess in front after Ekholm’s shot hit the sticks of Ducks defenseman Pavel Mintyukov and Edmonton forward Vasily Podkolzin.
Facing their second two-goal deficit of the night, the Ducks pulled within a goal 90 seconds into the final frame and tied the score 85 ticks later.
First, Jacob Trouba weaved his way to the net to create a rebound with his backhand that Carlsson popped home for his 19th goal of the season.
Then, Zellweger’s seventh goal beat Jarry by way of a point shot through a heavy screen by Ross Johnston.
Edmonton reclaimed the lead with 1:16 left in the second period and then pushed it back to two goals 36 seconds later.
Hyman redirected a slick pass by Ekholm before Bouchard tapped one in from the doorstep, leaving the score at 4-2.
The Ducks had drawn even with a man-advantage marker 3:01 into the stanza. During a power play, Killorn initiated the scoring sequence with a takeaway in the Ducks’ end and ultimately finished it with a putback of Carlsson’s rebound.
Edmonton darted out to a 2-0 lead, scoring 13 seconds into the contest and again at the 9:03 mark.
A blue line-to-blue line pass by Savoie found Roslovic behind Radko Gudas, sending Columbus, Ohio native ahead for a bullet that beat Dostál between his glove and pad.
Nugent-Hopkins extended their lead, when 2011’s first overall pick was stripped at the blue line by Ryan Poehling. He stole the puck back and zoomed ahead for a shot that went off the end boards before hitting Dostál, Savoie and then McDavid, who hit Nugent-Hopkins in front for a shot from in tight that rose above Dostál’s right shoulder and into the net.
The Ducks halved their deficit on a broken play that resulted in a whole goal. Johnston lost an edge, leaving the puck for Jansen Harkins as he fell. Harkins heaved the puck across the crease and off the right-wing wall, where it ricocheted into the right circle. Moore glided down from the right point and into a slap shot for his third goal of the campaign.
More to come on this story.