Ducks finish off Oilers in Game 6 for 1st playoff series win since 2017

ANAHEIM — The Ducks soared past the Edmonton Oilers and into the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, dismissing the reigning Western Conference champions, 5-2, in Game 6 on Thursday night at Honda Center for their first postseason series victory since 2017.

They continued their NHL-best power-play performance, converting on one of two opportunities to maintain their 50% clip for the postseason. They also made Edmonton earn its offense 5-on-5, taking no penalties while closing out the best-of-seven first-round series.

The line of Leo Carlsson, Chris Kreider and Troy Terry combined for nine points, with each skater recording a goal and two assists. Ryan Poehling also scored. Lukáš Dostál made 25 saves in perhaps his best game of the series.

Connor Murphy and Vasily Podkolzin netted a goal each for Edmonton. Connor Ingram stopped 26 of 30 shots.

The Ducks advance to a second-round series against either the Vegas Golden Knights or the Utah Mammoth. Vegas leads that series, 3-2, with Game 6 scheduled for Friday night in Salt Lake City.

The Ducks connected on three of their first six shots Thursday to mount a 3-1 lead through 20 minutes, scoring at the 9:56, 13:43 and 16:50 marks and never looking back.

They scored the game’s first goal for the first time in the series, and in fortuitous fashion. John Carlson let fly with a slap shot that hit Poehling and trickled into the net for his fourth playoff goal.

Then it was Kreider getting a 35th birthday gift, his first goal in 17 games dating to the regular season and his second in 25 appearances. Carlsson and Terry transported the puck expertly through the neutral zone, opening up the entire right wing for Kreider. He zoomed ahead for a no-doubt one-timer from the right dot.

Kreider’s 49 career playoff goals are the most on the Ducks’ roster. His former New York Rangers cohort Jacob Trouba started the sequence by separating Oilers star Connor McDavid, who was held scoreless, from the puck.

The Oilers got a greasy goal after they made a greasy play, taking down Ian Moore before they slammed a puck from a sharp angle and then knocked it across the crease to Murphy for a tap-in at 15:14.

The makeup call came swiftly, 37 seconds after the goal, and the Ducks capitalized on the power play. Darnell Nurse was committed almost entirely to jamming Gauthier’s shooting lane from the right circle. He stuffed one shot attempt and then blocked a second – that went off his stick and into the net for Gauthier’s fourth goal and third on the power play this postseason with 3:10 left in the period.

Jackson LaCombe’s assist on Gauthier’s goal moved him back into a tie for the NHL’s playoff points lead with nine.

A defensive game spearheaded by LaCombe, the physical tone set by Jeffrey Viel and the sound goaltending of Dostál kept the second period scoreless for 18:28, at which point Zach Hyman appeared to score from his office in tight. The goal was overturned by video review because Hyman kicked the puck in, opening the door for the Ducks to pad their lead.

They did so, with 47 seconds remaining in the frame. It was the longest-tenured Duck, Terry, scoring the big insurance marker. LaCombe skied the puck to the red line, where Kreider stripped Evan Bouchard to set up a 2-on-1 rush for Carlsson and Terry, who finished past a sliding Ingram for his third goal of the series.

A mere 72 seconds into the third period, the Oilers got that goal back as the heavy trio of Leon Draisaitl (another co-leader in the playoff points), Kasperi Kapanen and Podkolzin mucked it up to get a puck in off Podkolzin to make it 4-2.

But then the man of the moment and the star of the future were one as Carlsson found the empty net, sealing the series with 2:35 left on the game clock.

More to come on this story.