Ducks 5, Oilers 3
EDMONTON, Alberta -- Defenseman Hampus Lindholm tipped in a picture-perfect pass from right winger Rickard Rakell at 5:35 of the third period to snap a tie and give the red-hot Anaheim Ducks a 5-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
Anaheim is 10-1-1 in its last 12 games and moved to within three points of the Los Angeles Kings for the Pacific Division lead.
Rakell and Lindholm were the only two Ducks in the offensive zone with four Oilers on them. Lindholm skated his way through the traffic and reached past Edmonton center Connor McDavid to tip the puck past goaltender Cam Talbot and give Anaheim a 3-2 lead.
The Oilers received a power play late in the third after Ducks defenseman Kevin Bieksa took a high-sticking penalty. Talbot was pulled to give the Oilers a two-man advantage, but center Andrew Cogliano swept a puck into an empty goal to give the Ducks a 4-2 lead with 1:41 left.
The ex-Oiler ended up being credited with the winning goal because Edmonton left winger Benoit Pouliot banked a puck off Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler's head and into the net 24 seconds later to make it 4-3.
Anaheim right winger Corey Perry made it 5-3 with another empty netter with 13 seconds to play.
With 51.7 seconds left in the first period, the goal light went on after Ducks left winger David Perron crashed the crease and dislodged a puck that Oilers goalie Cam Talbot tried to control. A review of the goal was initiated by NHL headquarters in Toronto -- not by an Oilers coach's challenge.
After the goal was allowed to stand, Oilers coach Todd McLellan used that coach's challenge, claiming that Perron, whose skate looked to make contact with Talbot's glove, had interfered with the netminder.
After the second review, the goal was allowed to stand. For Perron, a former Oiler, it was his 10th of the season.
The Oilers tied it up on the power play at 2:16 of the second. A weak shot from center Leon Draisaitl squeaked through the pads of Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen.
Ducks right winger Jakob Silfverberg restored the lead at 14:54 with a wicked wrist shot into the top corner.
With just a little over three minutes remaining in the second, Oilers left winger Taylor Hall broke a five-game pointless streak when he jammed in a loose puck in the crease.
The two reviews in the first period took more than 10 minutes to complete and the second period was marred with delays because of issues with the game clock at Rexall Place. Two video reviews were needed to sync the clock.
NOTES: The flu bug has made its way through the Oilers dressing room as RW Zack Kassian was unavailable. C Anton Lander, who has been a healthy scratch in each of the seven previous games and has no goals in 48 games, was in the lineup. ... Edmonton also scratched D Adam Clendening. ... D Oscar Klefbom (lower body), C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (hand) D Andrew Ference (season-ending hip surgery) are on the Oilers injured reserve list. ... Ducks G John Gibson (upper body) was last in uniform Feb. 13. Anton Khudobin served as Frederik Andersen's back-up, but Gibson did take part in the Ducks' pre-game skate. ... Oilers All-Star LW Taylor Hall, who has 50 points this season, has been held pointless in the five games leading up the match-up with Anaheim. ... The Ducks scratched D Korbinian Holzer and LW Harry Zolnierczyk. ... On injured reserve for the Ducks are D Clayton Stoner (hip flexor) and RW Chris Stewart (jaw).