The Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers are deadlocked 1-1 after the first period as the Oilers are looking to take a 2-0 advantage in their first-round series on Wednesday night.
Leon Draisaitl put the Oilers on the board, banking his sharp-angle pass off the skate of Ducks defenceman Drew Helleson and past goaltender Lukas Dostal halfway through the opening frame.
The goal came shortly after both teams had chances to score on respective power plays.
Draisaitl’s goal was his first of the playoffs and his third point after recording a pair of assists in Game 1.
Ducks star winger Cutter Gauthier helped his team draw even five minutes later when he wired a shot past Oilers netminder Connor Ingram with blueliner Darnell Nurse in the box for interference.
Gauthier’s goal was his first of the playoffs after he became the fourth Duck in franchise history to score 40 or more goals in the regular season.
The Oilers had an opportunity to re-take the lead in the dying minutes after Ryan Poehling took a roughing penalty. Edmonton’s power-play buzzed around the Ducks’ net but were unable to beat Dostal.
Anaheim went 1-for-2 on the man advantage while the Oilers were 0-for-2.
The Oilers held a narrow 14-10 shot advantage after the first period.
Edmonton took Game 1 in a thrilling 4-3 victory that saw Kasperi Kapanen score the game-winner with 1:54 remaining in the third period.
The goal was Kapanen’s second of the game while forward Jason Dickinson also scored a pair of goals.
Edmonton is looking to return to the Stanley Cup Final for a third straight season after falling back-to-back times in 2024 and 2025 against the Florida Panthers.
The Oilers are also looking for more offence from superstar Connor McDavid, who was held scoreless in Game 1 on Monday.
McDavid led the NHL in scoring this season with 138 points and his 48 goals were good for third in the league.
Anaheim is in the playoffs for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign after going 43-33-6 in the regular season to finish third in the Pacific Division.
The series shifts to Anaheim on Friday where Game 3 will take place from the Honda Centre.
