The Anaheim Ducks used late goals from Mason McTavish and Mikael Granlund to take a 2-1 lead over the Edmonton Oilers after the first period in Game 3 of their first-round series.
The series is tied 1-1 after the teams split games in Edmonton.
Much of the first period in Game 3 was spent in the Oilers’ zone with the Ducks holding an 20-7 shot advantage.
But it was Edmonton opening the scoring, as Vasily Podkolzin wired a shot in the slot past Ducks netminder Lukas Dostal to give the Oilers the lead with just over six minutes remaining in the frame.
The Ducks were able to answer back three minutes later when McTavish tipped Drew Helleson’s point-shot past Connor Ingram to tie the game.
Anaheim then went on the power play under a minute later and capitalized with a goal from Granlund. The Ducks went 1-for-2 on the power play while the Oilers didn’t get an opportunity on the man advantage.
Edmonton is looking to return to the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight season after falling to the Florida Panthers in 2024 and 2025,
Superstar Connor McDavid remains pointless in the series after leading the NHL with 48 goals and 138 points in 82 games during the regular season.
This is Anaheim’s first playoff appearance since the 2017-18 campaign after they finished third in the Pacific Division with a 43-33-6 record.
Game 4 is set to take place on Sunday from the Honda Centre in Anaheim.
