Oilers outmatched by a better team

Edmonton Oilers vs Anaheim Ducks 2-3 (2-1, 0-1, 0-1)

After a stretch of games against teams on the outside, looking in and the playoffs, the Oilers take on a sure-fire contender in the Anaheim Ducks. Their 42-18-9 record is second only to the Canucks in the West. Edmonton inserted starting netminder Khabibulin into the lineup, and Andrew Cogliano returned to the third line to push Brule out as a healthy scratch alongside Krysanov and Yonkman who have spent a number of games in the press box already. Despite their erratic record of late, the Oilers held on to fifth place in the West, three points ahead of sixth.

Edmonton took a surprising lead against the Ducks, who had not given up the first goal in nine games! O'Sullivan found his power play mojo with Penner and Laich - following a long cycling sequence they found space enough to light up backup Grahame. The joy was far from finite, however, as former Oilers blueliner Sheldon Souray sparked his and levelled the score not long after. Both teams had problems gaining the zone regularly, but O'Sullivan was able to score again before the intermission, once again set up by his in-form linemates Laich and Tangradi.

Spectators could not avoid observing the rather clear difference in style between the teams, the Ducks were by far the most aggressive and it paid off as a weak turnover by Petry turned into a Ryan breakaway on which he scored.

The Oilers retreated into their defensive zone motte and bailey without much success. The Ducks penetrated the exterior defenses in the totally asexual meaning of the word time and time again. As the siege was laid, the down low to blueline play was employed with relative succes, though Khabibulin and the defense blocked several attempts. Sheldon Souray's artillery was finally able to break through and it proved the game winner as Edmonton did not manage to cut loose and regain ground with eight minutes to go.

Post game: "Symptomatic of our problems, we are not enough of an offensive threat and give up leads too easily" answered head coach Constantine on the question of how he saw the game. Experts were debating how one could go about getting the first line back in the puzzle, as Hemsky and Gagner especially had been absent for several games in a row. Luckily, the Oilers were able to keep it close again through the play of their second line.

Scoreboard
1st Period:
EDM - O'Sullivan (Penner, Laich) PP
ANA - Souray (Christensen)
EDM - O'Sullivan (Laich, Tangradi)

2nd Period:
ANA - Ryan (Koivu, Whitney)

3rd Period:
ANA - Souray (Koivu, Grahame)


Injuries/Misconducts/Etc.
-

Lines:
Penner - Gagner - Hemsky
Tangradi - Laich - O'Sullivan
Axelsson - Cogliano - Moore
Moreau - Falardeau - O'Marra

Babchuk - Visnovsky
Smid - Gilbert
Grebeshkov - Petry

Khabibulin
(Hiller)