Playoff Roundup: Ducks find offense to get Game 3 win over Oilers
Now these were the Ducks we were looking for.
After steamrolling through the Calgary Flames in the first round, the Ducks quickly dropped their first two games of the postseason to fall into an 0-2 hole to Edmonton. With their backs against the wall, the Ducks from two weeks ago showed up, winning Game 3 by a 6-3 score.
Within 12 minutes of the puck dropping, the Ducks found themselves up 3-0 thanks to goals from Rickard Rakell, Jakob Silfverberg and Ryan Getzlaf. The fast start after a sluggish first two games was much needed—mostly because it didn’t last all too long.
The Oilers clawed back to even the score at three with Connor McDavid burying the tying goal with an incredible power play effort.
It was then that the Ducks channeled their earlier play en route to another three-goal run that saw Chris Wagner net his first of the playoffs in the second, then Silfverberg added his second of the game in the third and Ryan Kesler net the dagger to make it 6-3.
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The six goals by Anaheim tied the franchise record for most in a playoff game (Apr. 30, 2015 vs. CGY).
After seeing the ice tilt the other way in the second period—Edmonton out-shot Anaheim, 14-5—it was a very positive sign to see the Ducks fight back like they did. The victory ensures that they’ll get at least one more game in California.
Full recap | Box score | Highlights
There was one other game on the Sunday slate, here's what happened:
Predators 3, Blues 1 | NSH leads 2-1
The Nashville Predators have garnered a lot of attention by strutting out country music star after country music star to sing the national anthem. Don’t let that distract you, though; the real stars in Nashville are the Predators themselves.
They showed once again on Sunday that they’re legit and have just as strong of a chance as any other team to hoist the Stanley Cup. Their latest endeavor was a 3-1 win in Game 3 over St. Louis to give themselves a 2-1 series lead.
It marked the fourth time in seven postseason games that Pekka Rinne and the Predators have held an opponent to one goal or fewer in a game. All of this while the Preds have scored at least three goals in five of their last six games. A formula like that will be tough to beat.
As has been the case for much of the playoffs, Nashville’s defensemen sparked the offense. Both Ryan Ellis and Roman Josi notched goals in Game 3. Ellis leads the team with eight points in the playoffs with P.K. Subban and Josi combining for nine.
"Obviously, with our defense, we have a lot of defensemen that can move their feet, find open lanes and shift and skate and turn and be deceptive in terms of protecting the puck," said Subban.
This was the first time that the Blues failed to score multiple goals in the playoffs, so the lack of offensive punch on Sunday shouldn’t derail what they had going. That being said, the Blues stare down the possibility of a 3-1 on Tuesday in front of the increasingly-raucous Nashville crowd.
One area they would like to see pick it up, though, is their power play, which sits at 1-for-7 this series and just 2-for-22 in the postseason.
As for the Predators, their dominance thus far has really been nothing short of a joint effort. Just see this stat: of the team’s six game-winning goals in the playoffs, all six have been by a different player.
Full recap | Box score | Highlights
Highlight of the Night
Another day, another highlight-reel moment for Connor McDavid.
Highlight of the Night, Part II
This Roman Josi goal is even better in slo-mo. How did that not hit anything?!
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Tweet of the Night
What's Dak Prescott doing at a Nashville Predators game? The Dallas Cowboys quarterback just wanted to take in some playoff hockey -- granted it wasn’t to see his team.
Three Stars
3. Calle Jarnkrok (NSH) - He may not have scored a goal or even registered a point, but Jarnkrok, arguably, had the biggest impact of the night because of his face-off prowess. He won 16 of the 19 face-offs he took, and everyone knows that you can’t win without having possession.
2. Pekka Rinne (NSH) - He’s made his residency as a star of the night through much of this postseason, and Sunday proved to be no different. He stopped all but one of the 23 shots he saw for a .957 save percentage, and it was his fourth game holding the opposition to one goal or less.
1. Jakob Silfverberg (ANA) - On a night where the Ducks desperately needed a win, Silfverberg came through with three points. The forward was the most active player in the offensive zone for both teams as he fired off a game-high five shots. He now has six goals in the playoffs.