Oilers at Ducks
A now-healthy Leon Draisaitl continues to make opponents feel sick, and the Anaheim Ducks routinely have found themselves under the weather when he's on the ice. After ending Anaheim's point streak at 18 contests (15-0-3), Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers attempt to seize a 2-0 advantage in their Western Conference second-round series on Friday as the teams reconvene at Honda Center.
"I think people make too big a deal of it," Draisaitl told reporters regarding his dominance of the Ducks, as the 21-year-old German recorded one goal and three assists in Wednesday's series-opening 5-3 win to increase his point total to 12 (seven goals, five assists) in six encounters with Anaheim in 2016-17. "Like I said, every player has a team that they like to play. ... Obviously, you need the bounces here and there too." Draisaitl has been getting the bounces with two goals and five assists in his last three contests since being kept off the scoresheet in his previous four while battling the flu. Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf is enjoying a healthy run in his own right, scoring and setting up a goal in Game 1 to give him 34 points (eight goals, 26 assists) in his last 23 overall contests while increasing his total to nine (two goals, seven assists) in six meetings with Edmonton.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, Sportsnet, TVA
ABOUT THE OILERS: Stay-at-home defenseman Adam Larsson matched his point total from his previous 23 games by scoring two goals and setting up another on Wednesday. "He's definitely not Bobby Orr, but (Wednesday) he sure looked good on that last one, skating," coach and Jack Adams finalist Todd McLellan told reporters, referring to Larsson's game-winning goal on which he banked a shot from behind the end line off Ducks defenseman Josh Manson and into the net. Fellow Swedish blue-liner Oscar Klefbom, who has recorded 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in his last 11 contests, extended his point streak to three games after notching an assist in back-to-back matches.
ABOUT THE DUCKS: After dealing with injuries to All-Star Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen, Anaheim's defense corps has another on its hands as coach Randy Carlyle deemed Kevin Bieksa (club-best four assists) "doubtful" for Game 2 because of a lower-body injury. Bieksa initially sustained the injury when colliding with a teammate in the first period of the series opener before officially exiting the contest in the second. Vatanen has missed two games with an upper-body injury, with Carlyle telling the Orange County Register that the playoff situation "has not allotted us enough time for him to be 100 percent."
OVERTIME
1. Anaheim has struggled mightily with its fourth-ranked penalty kill, surrendering two power-play goals to Edmonton in Game 1 after yielding six in a four-game sweep of Calgary in the first round.
2. Oilers C Mark Letestu increased his point total to five (three goals, two assists) in seven playoff contests after scoring twice in the opener for his first career multi-goal postseason performance.
3. Ducks RW Patrick Eaves has scored a goal in back-to-back contests, giving him 11 in his last 16 games.