The Edmonton Oilers were forced into another multi-goal deficit against the Anaheim Ducks. But unlike their season-opening contest, the Oilers were able to complete the comeback, reversing a 2-0 deficit to secure a 5-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks.
Below are the four most important takeaways from the Oilers' first-round rematch with the Ducks.
No early answer for the Ducks offense, but a second-period surge helped Edmonton to turn things around
In the first period alone, the Oilers gave up 16 shots on goal and two power play goals.
I'm surprised that the Oilers didn't use the first intermission to ask the Pittsburgh Penguins for a refund on the Spencer Stastney trade.
Even though the Oilers eventually got things going with the help of two power plays of their own, it felt like the Ducks were still the more potent team offensively for a large portion of the game. Such is especially true when considering that Beckett Sennecke had as many shots on goal during the first period as the Oilers.
That isn't me writing numbers for the sake of writing numbers.
Sennecke also scored both first-period power play goals, with Leo Carlsson adding two assists as the Ducks built an early 2-0 lead.
The good news was that the Oilers rebounded big time, with Evan Bouchard scoring just seconds into the middle frame to get them on the board before giving them the 3-2 lead just over 14 minutes later. Vasily Podkolzin and Connor McDavid scored the other two Oilers' goals.
Safe to say that the Oilers finally got back onto level terms.
Devon Levi was part of the reason this game was even close. But Lukas Dostal had his own answers too.
Devon Levi is becoming more and more of a worthy goaltending option for the Oilers.
On Wednesday, Levi recorded 29 saves on 31 total shots faced, which yielded a .935 save percentage. A good portion of those saves proved critical in keeping Edmonton in the game, especially when Anaheim was putting together its first period run; the Ducks had created a plethora of chances that could have easily ended up in the back of the net.
But then again, much of the night was seen as a goaltending battle. Despite ending the game with a .706 save percentage and getting pulled for Ville Husso, Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal made some of his own timely saves to delay Edmonton's surge, which would eventually crumble the entire effort that the Ducks put together.
After a rough start, these past two games have shown that the Oilers' can win goaltending battles outright or hold the edge in them long enough to give the offense a spark. Even if the goaltending continues to concede goals en masse, stringing together multiple stretches like what Levi put together on Wednesday will be critical to giving the Oilers a chance to consistently win high-scoring contests and reverse early deficits.
Milestone night for Kasperi Kapanen, but other depth players contribute to Edmonton's struggles on Wednesday
When Kasperi Kapanen scored against the Ducks on Wednesday, it not only represented the game-tying goal for the Oilers, but it also acted as his 100th career goal. That wouldn't be the last time Kapanen contributed for the Oilers on Wednesday; he helped create a two-on-one scoring chance shortly after scoring his goal.
But on the other end of the depth player picture was defenseman Connor Murphy, who conceded two second-period penalties. What's worse was that both calls came within four minutes of one another. While the Ducks were unable to capitalize on either power play opportunity, Murphy's performance didn't end up getting any better. He gave up a late second-period roughing penalty and a late third-period tripping penalty, putting his penalty total at five on the night.
Murphy is capable of having far better performances, but the statline he put together against the Ducks is still going to be very concerning for the Oilers' coaching staff, especially after the team just traded Stastney away.
Bouchard heading for a record-breaking season?
Bouchard only recently won the NHL's second star of the week, but there's a very good chance he gets a second appearance on the weekly list.
Against the Ducks, Bouchard scored twice while adding an assist to bring his point total on the season to 11. With four games played, he is on a 2.75 points per game pace, which would put his projected 84-game total at 231.
Obviously, it would be quite difficult for Bouchard or any defenseman in that regard to get to 231 points, let alone 200.
But given that the record for the most points recorded in a season by a defenseman is 139 points, which was set by Bobby Orr, it's not unfair to think that he could reach that milestone. After all, Bouchard would only need to record an average of 1.65 points per game to match that total by season's end. With 11 points already in tow, that number drops slightly to 1.6 points per game.
Record to watch this season? I think so.
What's next?
The Oilers will have another two days off before their next contest, which will see them take on the San Jose Sharks. Puck drop is set for 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
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