Oilers take 2-0 lead, Blues draw level

He scored Edmonton’s first goal to start the second-period rally, his second in as many games and fourth point against the Ducks so far.

Cam Talbot made 39 saves, stealing a 2-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks Friday night. Jakob Silfverberg scored twice for the Ducks although his second and Anaheim’s fifth of the game will irritate Oilers fans until Wednesday. In Game 2, the Oilers scored two early goals, and despite giving up three penalties in the second and third combined, the Oilers held the lead to take a 2-0 series lead.

Having lost the first two games at home the Anaheim Ducks must be feeling deja vu, previous year they found themselves in a similar situation in their 1st round series against the Nashville Predators.

Oilers coach Todd McLellan called Talbot the team’s “hero” in Game 2 but said the rest of his group would need to elevate their game in Game 3.

“I feel like people make too big of a deal of it”, Draisaitl said Thursday afternoon. It kind of gets you in the game.

“It’s really nice to see him get rewarded and get a couple of goals”, Letestu said of Larsson, acquired by Edmonton in the trade of former No. 1 draft pick Taylor Hall to New Jersey. We started the game the way we wanted to start it. “They’re going to be extremely desperate tonight”.

The Edmonton Oilers can all but end this series with a victory here and taking a commanding 3-0 lead.

Talbot admitted his team’s “overall game” was up to their standard in Anaheim Friday night, but he brought forth his best game of the playoffs when his team needed it most.

Just as the first period was evenly played, so was the second. Ryan Getzlaf added a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who also goal tallies from Rickard Rakell, Chris Wagner and Ryan Kesler. “We are still in a really good situation, still up 2-1”.

It was a tight game all the way through, with the first two periods settling nothing.

Letestu cleaned up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ shot during 55 seconds of 5-on-3 play to tie up the game. “But I thought we were good”. Two goals that largely silenced a sellout Honda Center crowd showed that they’ve got a lot of work ahead of them.

But with all the momentum seemingly against the Oilers, a fortunate bounce put them back in front for good.

The second break came early in the final period when Silfverberg took a deft pass from Manson between the circles and drove the puck by Talbot.

For all of Gibson’s faults, the Oilers’ Cam Talbot was at his worst since a five-goal stinker in Game 4 against the Sharks in the first round.

Anaheim gradually turned the period in its favor, but couldn’t score.

Though Draisaitl won’t acknowledge it, part of the reason for his production against the Ducks likely comes from the decision to play him on the wing with centre Connor McDavid this season. It was Maroon’s third goal of the playoffs.

Getzlaf beat Talbot with a wrist shot from the hashmarks with 8:09 remaining in the first.

Despite getting outplayed, the Blues were, for much of the second half of the game, one shot away from the tying goal. “Obviously you’re paying attention to what the Ducks are doing up top”. Ducks defenceman Kevin Bieksa sat out a second straight game with a lower-body injury.

But only recently have they mastered the ability to do something about it, and they’ve turned that newly discovered skill into the strength of their season, having only lost back-to-back games in regulation three times in a 67-game span dating back to December 1.