EDMONTON — Leon Draisaitl scored the late game winner and Darnell Nurse had a goal and assist as the Edmonton Oilers won their second game in a row, defeating the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 on Friday.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored for the Oilers (23-12-3) who have won 10 of their last 13, and 13 of their last 17.
Brett Leason and Jackson LaCombe replied for the Ducks (16-18-4) who had a three-game winning streak snapped when Draisaitl snapped a 2-2 tie with 95 seconds left in regulation.
Stuart Skinner made 27 stops in net for the Oilers, while Lukas Dostal recorded 23 saves in the loss for the Ducks.
TAKEAWAYS
Anaheim: LaCombe is having a terrific second season with the Ducks. With his goal on Friday he now has seven on the season and 15 points in 31 games. The 23-year-old defenceman from Minnesota is now just two points back of the 17 he had in 71 games in his rookie campaign.
Oilers: Draisaitl extended his points streak to 13 games, tying the longest streak of the season achieved by four different players thus far. During his streak he has recorded 11 goals and 25 points. Draisaitl passed Glenn Anderson for fifth in Oilers franchise history with 907 points. However, teammate Connor McDavid had his own points streak end at 12 in the game as he was held off the scoresheet.
KEY MOMENT
With the game tied 2-2, Edmonton took the lead with just 1:35 to play as Zach Hyman sent the puck in front to Draisaitl and he took the pass on his knee and kicked it down to his stick before picking the corner past Dostal for his league-leading 28th goal of the season.
KEY STAT
Edmonton’s defensive corps have been somewhat of a surprise in the scoring department, now accounting for 25 of the Oilers’ 122 goals this season, just one back of the league-leading Columbus Blue Jackets in that department. Evan Bouchard leads the way with seven, followed by Mattias Ekholm (six), Brett Kulak (five), Darnell Nurse (four) and Troy Stecher (three).
UP NEXT
Ducks: Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday.
Oilers: Visit the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 3, 2025.
Shane Jones, The Canadian Press
