Takeaways from the Ducks 4-3 Overtime Win over the Oilers in Game 4, Ducks Lead Series 3-1
Ducks mount a thrilling comeback, fueled by crucial power-play goals and late-game heroics to secure a dramatic overtime victory and a commanding series lead.
Video Transcript
Okay.
The Anaheim Ducks defeat the Edmonton Oilers 4 to 3 in overtime, and they'll take a three-one series lead back to Edmonton with a chance to close it out in Game 5.
Now, this game had some dramatics.
S- We'll start at the end with, Ryan Poehling coming to-- or coming down the wing, throwing a puck on net, goes off Darnell Nurse's skate, and did it go past Tristan Jarry?
It goal-goal stands, and the goal counted.
just take us through those moments, Derek, and just what were we-- what were we feeling and lis-- and, watching in the press box up there?
Well, initially I thought that Chris Kreider had gotten a touch on it, and I had kinda been hoping that maybe he could get a little juice going because it's, it's been a little bit of a tough series for him.
But, after looking at the review, it was pretty clear that he didn't get a touch on it.
But yeah, initially I thought Kreider had tipped it, and I thought that Poehling had actually wrapped around the net and just tapped it in because it was sitting on the goal line.
Yeah.
but the replay shows it, it just went off Darnell Nurse's skate, try- kinda squeezed through Tristan Jarry, and the puck just sat there on the goal line and And it does look like-- I mean, the, the call on the ice was that it was a good goal.
Yeah.
And that's the thing, that's, that, that's what matters the most is that it was a good-- They called it a good goal.
They went to review.
They confirmed it, so I mean, that's, that's all you can say about it is there's no-- You can-- The parallax effect and hemming and hawing, all of that, that's what they said it was.
So, that's huge because we had talked about it while they were reviewing is, if that's not called a goal, then and they keep going, Edmonton wins it, then that's a, a 2-2 tie.
Mm-hmm.
So the, the, the implications of what that call was gonna be were huge for the series because either Anaheim goes up 3-1, or Edmonton is potentially still have a chance to get back in the series.
Yeah.
And when we talked to, Joel Quenneville after, he's the one who invoked Patrick Kane's name, that, famous Game 6, Cup-winning goal.
So not quite those stakes, but still huge stakes, like you said, where a 2-2 series is a completely different complexion than a 3-1 series.
Now, I thought that, moving back to the beginning of the game, I thought that Edmonton, obviously, we were expecting a big push from them.
they came out hard.
they got two early goals.
it wasn't going Anaheim's way mo- mainly because I feel like the game flow, Edmonton was dictating and playing a different style.
They were playing a very chip and chase, kind of north-south game, and the Ducks weren't not ready for that, but it doesn't suit the Ducks as well as the games that they have been playing.
So good adjustment by Edmonton and even better counter-adjustment from Anaheim to just kind of lean into it and kind of play their own kinda simplistic game.
What did you feel like-- What did you feel about the Anaheim start and then their adjustment after?
I think the best part about this team is they're able to kind of just roll with the ebbs and flows.
Like, a lot of their offense is predicated off of run-and-gun offense, and that's just kind of a feel thing where it's like, "Okay, we have this odd-man rush.
Like, let's go for it," or, "We have this good cycle play, and we're just chucking shots at the net, getting traffic."
That's what they did a lot last game.
They were trying to do that a little bit this game, but I think Jarry was able to make a lot better reads on those, especially because there wasn't as much traffic up until, like, the third period when Jeff Viel tied the game.
So, yeah, good on, good on the team for kind of just leaning into that identity of, "Okay, this is the way that the other team is gonna play.
Let's not really worry about adjus-adjusting to it per se.
Like, if that's what happens, then that's what happens."
'Cause they still got a lot of chances off the rush, too.
It just wasn't as much as we saw in Game 3.
Yeah.
And shout out to their power play, wh- which is now, you know, converting at a, at a rate that they n- weren't anywhere near in the regular season.
But it seems very cohesive right now on both units, got a goal.
Depth scoring was huge in this one.
There-- I mean, we got goals from every line in this game.
Khadym Goche, Mikkel Granlund, Jeff Viel was with a huge game-tying goal, and then obviously Poehling with the winner.
What do you think is-- I mean, how huge is it to get that kinda depth scoring against a team like the Oilers who can, I don't know, kinda eliminate the offense for an entire line basically with their offense?
I mean, it's incredibly huge because especially in the playoffs, y- you see all these unsung heroes, like the guys that maybe they don't have as big of a role in the regular season because guys like McDavid, Draisaitl, those types of guys that you have on your team are the ones putting up all the points.
But when it becomes, a little bit maybe, like, slowed down, kind of grittier is when you need some of those guys that can muck it up and get in there.
It's like Jeff Viel and Tim Wasielewski, they've had a fantastic series.
Viel back-to-back goals and-- or goals in back-to-back games and Wasielewski's kind of been that buzzsaw to kind of keep McDavid, at bay a little bit, even though they are gonna get their offense.
We saw that again tonight.
But, just the ability to kind of go out there and frustrate those guys, I think that's been the biggest part of the series and why they are leading 3-1 going back to Edmonton.
yeah, definitely.
And if I were to, like, ask you for a standout player for you, because, again, with all this depth scoring, like, what kinda stood out-- Who stood out to you in this game?
Well, I mean, Jackson LaCombe just continues to be fantastic.
It's, it's crazy how often we've been saying that over the course of the last four games, just because even going back to the beginning of the season, he gets his long-term extension, and everybody in the national media is like, "Who is this?"
Like- Yeah. "
how is he getting this much money?"
Like, "What d- what does this mean?"
He g-- And then he ends up going to the Olympics.
He doesn't play, but he, he gets to be able to soak in that experience and be around all these super talented players and watch what the intensity is like.
And then now he gets to be in the playoffs.
He's the number one defenseman, I would say arguably on, on the team right now.
In terms of the way he's playing at least, he's definitely the number one defenseman.
he's playing heavy minutes against McDavid.
He, he had another greatJust game overall, like the shifts that he had in the third period where he's just working with whoever.
It doesn't matter who his defensive partner is.
He's working with Jacob Trouba.
He's with John Carlson on that game time goal.
Just the poise that he has, it's just incredible to see because of how many guys they have that have not played in the playoffs before.
And to see someone like him have that much poise on the puck defending these uber talented players, I think that's just been I don't even know whether you can call him underrated anymore.
Like he's getting that attention on the national stage.
Yeah, everyone knows who Jackson Lacombe is now.
That's definitely I mean, yeah, he's he can be the player of the game in every one of these playoff games.
Yeah, like 30 minutes tonight, I believe close to 29 something.
But it's just it feels so effortless with him in a world where we see the Cale McCarrs and Lane Hudson, Quinn Hughes, who are so like dynamic with their shifty with their movements.
Lacombe is just steady as she goes, takes one or two strides, but still is able to beat guys up ice and and on and get back.
And just the way he's calculated in his movements on both sides of the puck.
Yeah, Jackson Lacombe is an impressive, impressive player.
I want to shout out Lucas Dostal, though, in this one, because when the Ducks were mounting their comeback, there were chances that Edmonton had and he came up with some massive saves, including a huge one down the stretch on McDavid when he was McDavid is going one on one against Beckett Seneca and beat Seneca pretty easily, but tries to tuck it around Dostal and Dostal just gets that right pad on it.
So number one came up huge in net in this one.
And then they're going to need Dostal to come up huge again in Edmonton if they want to close this one out.
Obviously, they want to close out this series as quickly as possible and, you know, get a longer rest.
But yeah, they take a 3-1 series lead again to Edmonton and with a chance to win their first series since 2017.
Derek will be on site in Edmonton.
So please keep watching, keep following, keep reading.
We're having a great time.
I'm having a great time covering this team, making this run.
So for the hockey news, this is Derek Lee.
I'm Patrick Preston.
Thank you.
