Ducks at Oilers
The Anaheim Ducks have made themselves at home in the relatively cool Alberta air this postseason, and the five-time reigning Pacific Division champions can breathe new life into their Western Conference second-round series should they continue that dominance in Wednesday's Game 4 against the Edmonton Oilers. The Ducks doused the Flames in both encounters in Calgary during the first-round series and improved to 3-0 in Alberta with Sunday's 6-3 triumph in Edmonton.
Jakob Silfverberg recorded his first career multi-goal performance and extended his goal-scoring streak to three contests after tallying twice in the victory, trimming Anaheim's series deficit to 2-1. The 26-year-old Swede's six goals trail only Pittsburgh rookie Jake Guentzel for the league lead while his 31 career points (10 goals, 21 assists) in 30 playoff games over the last three seasons underscores his worth in contests that count. Edmonton captain Connor McDavid schooled Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen while scoring a highlight-reel goal in Game 3 for his second point in the series and sixth in the playoffs, but his minus-2 rating on Sunday shows that the 20-year-old still can learn a thing or two in the eyes of coach Todd McLellan. "He (McDavid) like everybody else is learning and we'll sit with him," McLellan said of McDavid, who was named a Hart Trophy finalist on Monday on the heels of his 100-point regular-season performance.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, Sportsnet, TVAS
ABOUT THE DUCKS: Anaheim's walking wounded tag was taken to the extreme as forward Patrick Eaves was seen wearing a walking boot following Game 3 on the heels of a neutral-zone collision with former Duck Patrick Maroon in the third period. The 33-year-old Eaves joined defenseman Kevin Bieksa (lower body) in the stands during Tuesday's battle drills, with his availability to play in Game 4 depending greatly on if he's able to skate on Wednesday morning, coach Randy Carlyle said. Bieksa's status is much clearer as he will miss his third straight contest on Wednesday.
ABOUT THE OILERS: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins finished the regular-season with nine points in his last nine games before seeing his offense dry up in the postseason. "I feel like I've had a lot of chances. ... I'm close, but I've got to find a way to take the next step," said the top overall pick of the 2011 draft , who was held off the scoresheet in the first round versus San Jose before notching an assist in the first two contests against Anaheim. Fellow former first-round pick Jordan Eberle is also struggling, setting up two goals in nine playoff games after recording six points (four goals, two assists) in his final four regular-season contests.
OVERTIME
1. Anaheim captain C Ryan Getzlaf, who scored a goal in Game 3 to move within one of tying Teemu Selanne for the franchise lead, has recorded nine points (five goals, four assists) in seven playoff games.
2. Edmonton G Cam Talbot owns an .898 save percentage in his past six starts after recording two shutouts in the previous three contests.
3. Ducks D Shea Theodore has provided an offensive boost with seven points (two goals, five assists) in seven playoff games.