EDMONTON — The NHL’s top-ranked power play didn’t convert two chances in Game 1 of the playoff series, a 4-3 Edmonton Oilers win over the Anaheim Ducks.
Oilers captain Connor McDavid pointed the finger at himself.
The Ducks didn’t allow the Oilers easy entries into the offensive zone when Edmonton had the man-advantage, and it’s often McDavid zipping the puck over the blue line with his superior speed.
“That was me … not being clean enough doing that,” McDavid said Wednesday before Game 2 at Rogers Place.
“That’s an area we’re very good at, not too concerned about it. With that being said, they threw some different things at us, and we’ll adjust.”
Edmonton’s power play topped the league this season with a 30.6 per cent success rate.
The Ducks have former Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft on the bench as an assistant coach. Woodcroft coached the Oilers to the Western Conference final in 2022 and the second round in 2023.
The Oilers fired Woodcroft after a 3-9-1 start in the 2023-24 season. He was replaced by current coach Kris Knoblauch, who has navigated Edmonton to back-to-back appearances in the Stanley Cup final.
McDavid, who was held off the scoresheet Monday, allows Anaheim might have some intelligence on the Oilers that other opponents might not have because of Woodcroft. He downplayed the effect on Edmonton’s power play.
“They’d have lots,” the captain said. “I don’t think anything about our power play is hidden. We’ve been doing this for a long time, and we know what we do really well, so I don’t know how many secrets you can really tell.”
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch wasn’t worried that his captain had, by his high standards, an off night to start the playoffs.
“Any time I see Connor do something, maybe not at his best, it usually doesn’t last very long,” Knoblauch said. “He usually finds a way to correct it.”
SAMANSKI IN FOR OILERS
Oilers forward Josh Samanski anticipated his NHL playoff debut in Game 2.
Knoblauch confirmed it after the pre-game skate, with the 24-year-old expected to draw in at fourth-line centre for the injured Adam Henrique between Colton Dach and Trent Frederic.
Samanski, who played for Straubing in the German league last year, had two goals and two assists in 24 games — he scored in Edmonton’s regular-season finale against Vancouver — after he was first called up from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors in January.
“Building my game and taking pride in the D-zone and battling for pucks and trying to do the little things right, it’s not easy for the coach to trust a young guy, especially (because) I played in the DEL last year and not sure what to expect,” Samanski said Wednesday morning. “Our staff and my teammates did a great job helping me adjust.”
He and Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl both played for Germany in February’s Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
“He’s great, and we don’t just talk about hockey. It’s just anything. It makes me feel real comfortable — and he’s played a pretty big part in it,” Samanski said.
Samanski had a goal and an assist in five games in Milan.
“It’s a big stage,” Samanski said. “Playing against the best players and playing with some of the best players … it definitely helped me. It definitely helped me make a jump in the season.”
The six-foot-two, 195-pound forward was undrafted. Samanski spent the 2019-20 season with the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack.
“He’s really, really solid, just really, really good in his own end, his attention to detail is really good,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said.
“Nothing bad seems to happen when he’s on the ice, so that’s a great way to get into the league, from your net out.”
DUCKS BREAKING IN
Thirteen Ducks made their NHL playoff debuts in Game 1.
Anaheim returned to the post-season after a seven-year absence. After a rocky first period, the Ducks recovered to lead 3-2 early in the third before falling 4-3.
“As this series (continues), everybody’s going to get a little bit better, because they know the opponent and know what each team has to do,” Knoblauch said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for their team, their veterans, but especially their young guys who have a lot of potential. They’re very exciting to watch and they’ve had a lot of success early in their careers.
“It’s going to be important for us not anticipating them fading away, because I don’t think they’re the type of players to do that.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2026.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
