The Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers are locked in a 3-3 tie after two periods in Game 3 of their first-round series on Friday.
Both teams are looking to take a 2-1 series lead after they split the first two games in Edmonton.
Anaheim entered the period with a 2-1 lead thanks to two late first-period goals from Mason McTavish and Mikael Granlund. Vasily Podkolzin scored the lone goal for the Oilers.
Kasperi Kapanen drew the Oilers even five minutes into the period when his shot found its way past Ducks netminder Lukas Dostal.
The Oilers took the lead just under two minutes later when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins fired a loose puck past Dostal to give the Oilers a 3-2 lead.
Superstar Connor McDavid picked up the secondary assist on Nugent-Hopkin’s goal, giving him his first point of the playoffs. He led the NHL with 48 goals and 138 points in 82 games during the regular season.
Halfway through the period, the Ducks hemmed the Oilers deep when Alex Killorn put the puck into an open cage past Oilers goalie Connor Ingram to even the score 3-3.
The Ducks appeared to break the tie with over three minutes remaining in the frame when Granlund deflected the puck into the Oilers’ net but it was ruled a high-stick.
Edmonton outshot the Ducks 12-11 in the period after Anaheim peppered the Oilers 20-7 in the first frame.
The Ducks are 1-for-2 on the man advantage while the Oilers have yet to go on the power play.
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,
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.
