Devon Levi turned aside 29 shots after Edmonton’s early wobble, and the Oilers roared through a five-goal second period to beat the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 at Honda Center on Wednesday.
Evan Bouchard drove the turnaround with two goals and an assist, while Leon Draisaitl supplied four helpers. Connor McDavid added a goal and two assists as Edmonton improved to 3-0-1 and extended its winning streak to three games in the opening contest of a three-stop California trip.
Anaheim had built a 2-0 first-period edge on two power-play finishes from Beckett Sennecke, with Leo Carlsson setting up both. But the Ducks could not slow Edmonton once the second period began.
After the horn
Sennecke opened the scoring at 4:11 of the first period, sliding the puck through Levi from close range on the power play. He doubled the Ducks’ lead at 15:28, redirecting Carlsson’s feed from beneath the goal line between Levi’s pads.
That was all Anaheim would get. The Ducks had also scored exclusively on the power play in Sunday’s 3-2 overtime victory over the Florida Panthers, but their advantage disappeared quickly Wednesday.
Bouchard needed only 11 seconds of the second period to put Edmonton on the board, blasting a slap shot from the right point past Lukas Dostal. Kasperi Kapanen then tied it 2-2 at 6:30, wiring a power-play one-timer from the lower left circle for his 100th NHL goal.
Bouchard put the Oilers ahead for good at 14:12. His slap shot from above the circles was his sixth goal of the season, moving him into the NHL lead.
Draisaitl followed with a long feed that sent Vasily Podkolzin behind the Anaheim coverage. Podkolzin converted the breakaway at 16:49 to make it 4-2, and McDavid capped the burst during 4-on-4 play. Carrying speed into the Anaheim end, McDavid slipped a shot through Dostal from above the left hash marks with 52 seconds remaining in the period.
Dostal stopped 12 shots over the first two periods before Ville Husso took over for the third and made two saves. Anaheim, now 2-1-0, had one last special-teams chance late: Edmonton took two minor penalties 45 seconds apart, prompting the Ducks to pull Husso for a 6-on-3 look. Levi and the Oilers penalty killers held the line.
