ANAHEIM — The Ducks twice trailed by two goals and faced another deficit late, but they prevailed against the Edmonton Oilers, 6-5, on Wednesday night in their first bout after the Olympic break.
Welcome back to Honda Center, folks.
The Ducks have won 10 of their past 12 games while the Oilers have lost four straight and given up 22 goals in the process.
The Ducks leapfrogged Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers for second place in the Pacific Division and gave Coach Joel Quenneville his 1,000th career win, making him the second NHL steward to accomplish that feat after Scotty Bowman (1,244). Bowman, 92, earned his 1,000th win in February of the same season in which Quenneville picked up his first.
Quenneville called the contest “a tremendous game as far as the unpredictability of the outcome” in which “both teams were swinging.”
“I got some nice gifts after the game, cigars and a nice bottle of wine, so we’ve got time [to celebrate],” Quenneville said.
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 last 10 decisions.
Matt Savoie led 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, while McDavid and Mattias Ekholm each contributed two assists. Tristan Jarry had a forgettable night in the Edmonton net but Connor Ingram, who relieved him late, was saddled with the loss.
The Ducks completed their circling of the wagons 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, his team-topping 26th goal.
“I saw him open at first. He kind of missed the puck a little bit … I didn’t really see it, but I was happy it went in,” said Carlsson, who turned in his seventh career three-point game, trailing only Paul Kariya for a Ducks player 21-or-younger.
Edmonton claimed the lead for the third time at the 5:53 mark of the third period, as an eventful Oilers 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 flubbed a sterling opportunity at one end and Sennecke created one 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 of the season, tops among NHL rookies. That chased Jarry from a tie game.
“That’s a dangerous team to give chances to. Going down two twice and coming back is something to really pull from this game,” defenseman Jacob Trouba said. “That speaks a lot about the group and the character we’re building.”
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.
Staring down their second two-goal hole of the night, the Ducks pulled within one 90 seconds into the final frame and tied the score 85 ticks later.
First, Trouba weaved his way to the net to create a rebound with his backhand that Carlsson popped home for his 19th goal of the campaign.
Then, Zellweger’s seventh goal beat Jarry by way of a point shot through a heavy screen by Ross Johnston.
Edmonton had 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, then Bouchard tapped one in from the doorstep.
The Ducks had drawn even with a man-advantage marker 3:01 into the period. 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 match 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 making contact with 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. 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 year.
Wednesday marked the Ducks’ eighth multi-goal comeback of the season, one shy of their franchise record.
“It was a tough start, from 13 seconds in,” Carlsson said. “It was a fun game with a lot of back-and-forth, as we kind of knew the game was gonna be, too.”