Regular Season Rewind

In anticipation of this second round Anaheim v Edmonton match-up, let us revisit the top 5 moments from the regular season between these two teams.

5. Gibson bounce-back victory- After getting pulled for giving up 4 goals in the previous game against the Predators - John Gibson rebounded by making 33 saves in a 4-1 victory. Ritchie, Fowler, Kesler (PPG) and Vermette were the scorers. The Oilers lone goal against Gibson was a bounce off of Cam Fowlers stick as he was attempting to tie up Draisitl in front.

4. Oilers Home Dominance- Nobody said this would be all positive moments? After taking the first meeting between the two teams The Ducks dropped the next two - both in Edmonton - in consecutive months. A 3-2 OT loss in December and 4-0 shutout in January. The 3-2 OT loss featured another PPG goal from Kesler (on the exact same play as on the initial victory in November) and a Rakell rebound from Perry and Getzlaf. The shutout loss was right before the All Star break and the team just looked completely exhausted. CJ summed up the game in the most emotive and yet to the point expressive piece of the season.

3. Ducks pass Oilers for 2nd place in the Pacific- In a game in which both teams had 87 points with 10 games left in the season - it was hyped as the biggest in the season between the two. It was also Social Media Night at the Pond and a star was born. Jonathan Bernier was making his 11th straight start in goal. The german sniper (dont mention the war), Leon Draisaitl, started the scoring (he had scored in both other games) but Major Patrick Eaves tied it up off a weak shot that Talbot seemed to just whiff on. McDavid took the lead back off a stretch pass and a bad Ducks line-change. Just as the first was in the dying seconds Rakell and Lindholm worked some Swedish magic to tie it. Two minutes into the second Josh Manson skated in from his own blue line and ripped a low blocker-side shot past Talbot for the lead. Bernier made some big stops - one on a 2 on 1 break - and the Oilers made it interesting with less than a minute to play but the Ducks came away with the victory to take sole possession of 2nd in the Pacific.

2. Ricky Magic in the 4th game- With Anaheim leading 3-2 and 8 minutes left in the second Getzlaf gained the zone and fed Rickard Rakell who then cut to the middle, found space, and attempted to shoot but had his shot come back to him off a defenders skate which he then regained and while still moving forward - proceeded to dipsy doodle around the completely lost Kris Russell and scored top right corner.

1. Regular Season Series Decider- With the Ducks having won both of their home games and the Oilers winning both of theirs; the regular season series came down to the fifth and final game in Edmonton. Also on the line, the Pacific division lead, which the Oilers would move into a tie with the Ducks for should they win the game. Both goaltenders made some huge point blank stops early on, Gibson on a cross-crease pass from Maroon and Talbot on a point black shot from Perry, but the Oilers ended up taking the lead in the last minute of the first when Maroon made a nice between the legs around Lindholm and fed McDavid. The initial pass could have been picked off by Kesler but he fanned on it and McDavid scored through traffic. Getzlaf tied it on a blast from the point on the Power Play. Gibson made some huge out of position saves as the Oilers mostly dominated play. Kesler could have taken the lead in the 3rd on a give and go play with Silfverberg but he hit the cross bar on a wide open net. But the Ducks took the lead anyway when a break down in the Oilers PK left Vermette wide open where he deeked Talbot and passed across to Eaves for the easy tap in goal. Talbot turned away Perry on a breakaway with 6 minutes left in the third before Vermette took a needless high sticking penalty to put the Oilers on the powerplay with 3 minutes left. The Oilers subsequently scored by utilizing the cross-ice pass through the Ducks weak penalty killing box - Gibby could not control the rebound and Lucic put it in. In OT - ye old Getzlaf falls down (as opposed to Getzlaf drop pass to nobody) play was perfectly executed which led to a McDavid and Draisaitl 2-on-1. Guess who scored to put the game away and give the Oilers the regular season series win?

Notes and Nuances to take going into this playoff series:

• Both teams won their home games exclusively with two of the Oilers wins going to OT. In the playoffs there is no 3-on-3 OT, so less chance for a Ducks catastrophic failure generally as a result of Getzlaf blowing a tire or passing to no one.
• The Oilers had 1 more home game - and thus won the regular season series. Given the roles are reversed for the playoffs, and if that trend continues, that works well for the Ducks.
• Leon Draisaitl scored in every single one of these games. All eyes will be on McDavid, but somebody should definitely keep at least one eye on Draisaitl as well. The stats below back up that Leon Draisaitl is the number one Ducks-killer in this series.

• Corsi Wise it isnt that much different: