Ducks at Oilers
Connor McDavid is trying to take Edmonton on a ride it hasn't experienced since 2006 and hopes to keep the Oilers on track when they host the surging Anaheim Ducks on Saturday. More importantly, the play of Edmonton's 19-year-old captain and owner of NHL-bests 23 assists and 34 points is starting to rub off on his teammates - most notably Leon Draisaitl, whose nine goals are on pace to shatter the 19 he scored in his first full season of 2015-16.
"He's one of my favorite guys to play with for sure,'' McDavid told reporters about Draisaitl, who scored twice in the Oilers' 6-3 victory in Winnipeg on Thursday. "He's so patient with the puck. He's always finding you in different ways and putting the puck on your stick in a good situation. Leon thinks the game so well. We think the game a little bit alike and when you get that, good things happen." McDavid recorded three assists Thursday, giving him six goals and nine assists during a seven-game point streak and helping the Oilers remain tied with Anaheim for second place in the crowded Pacific Division as they pursue their first postseason berth in 11 years. The Ducks continued the momentum from an 8-4-2 November with a 3-1 victory at Vancouver on Thursday for their third straight win, allowing 15 goals during a 5-2-1 run that began with a 4-1 victory over Edmonton on Nov. 15 for their fifth straight triumph in the series. "We're getting better at playing as a group night in and night out," Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf told reporters. "Our guys are doing a great job surrounding our net and not giving a whole lot up."
TV: 10 p.m. ET, CBC, Sportsnet (Edmonton), Prime Ticket (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE DUCKS (12-8-4): Anaheim gets production from many places these days including rookie Ondrej Kase, the 205th overall pick in the 2014 draft who scored his first NHL goal Thursday. It's been coming frequently from Rickard Rakell (nine goals in 15 games), and the line of Ryan Kesler (eight) Jakob Silfverberg (eight) and Andrew Cogliano (six) with Silfverberg and Cogliano each scoring Thursday. One player who hasn't joined the party is Corey Perry, as the author of 334 career goals hasn't scored in 16 games - the longest drought since his rookie season of 2005-06.
ABOUT THE OILERS (13-10-2): Draisaitl's goal total is second only to McDavid's 11 on the club, which boasts six players with at least six. Hulking left wing Milan Lucic skates with McDavid and Draisaitl, providing muscle, seven goals and a six-game point streak in which he's scored twice and provided eight assists. Cam Talbot (12-9-2, 2.58 goals-against average, .915 save percentage), who started 23 of Edmonton's 25 games, is expected to play Saturday.
OVERTIME
1. The Ducks play 11 of their 15 December games on the road.
2. Edmonton's inconsistent power play sprang back to life Thursday with three goals - McDavid assisted on two of them - after going 0-for-12 in the last three games, 4-for-10 in the previous pair and 0-for-15 in the six before that.
3. Anaheim won its last five games and 18 of the past 22 in Edmonton, and claimed 26 victories in the last 31 overall meetings.