EDMONTON, Alberta — Looking to climb into playoff contention for the first time in years, the Ducks pounced on a slumping opponent.
Mason McTavish had a pair of goals and Jackson Lacombe and Cutter Gauthier each had three assists as the Ducks scored four goals on their first eight shots en route to a 6-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night.
Leo Carlsson, Sam Colangelo, Ryan Strome and Alex Killorn also scored for the Ducks (27-26-7, 61 points), who have won two of their last three games and nine of their past 13 and are six points behind Calgary for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Netminder Lukas Dostal made 32 saves.
Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid each had a goal and an assist for the Oilers (35-22-4, 74 points), who have lost six of their last seven. Calvin Pickard recorded just seven saves on 11 first-period shots in the loss for the Oilers, before being replaced at the start of the second by Stuart Skinner, who made 14 saves.
Edmonton scored first before the Ducks answered with four straight goals in the second half of the opening period.
The Oilers were on a power play when McDavid weaved into the slot and fed Draisaitl for a one-timer from the right circle that gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead at 10:05. Draisaitl’s league-leading 45th of the season extended his points streak to 12 games (10 goals, eight assists).
The Ducks tied the score at 11:57 when Carlsson swept the puck into the net from the inside edge of the right circle.
McTavish scored with a wrist shot from the bottom of the left circle for a 2-1 lead at 13:37.
Colangelo made it 3-1 at 18:26 when he tipped in a point shot from LaCombe that then caromed off the skate of defender Brett Kulak and into the net.
The Ducks scored 12 seconds later when Colangelo’s rebound came out to McTavish, who lifted the puck into the net from close range to extend the lead to 4-1.
Skinner replaced Pickard to start the second period and saved the first four shots before LaCombe fed Strome off the rush for a redirection and a 5-1 lead at 13:22. LaCombe, who extended his points streak to six consecutive games, has 11 goals and 33 points in 53 games this season.
Trevor Zegras threaded a pass to Killorn to spark a breakaway and he finished it off for a 6-1 lead at 3:56 of the third period.
McDavid, who was playing in his 700th NHL game, drove around Brian Dumoulin and scored to cut it to 6-2 on a power play at 4:44.
NOTES
Gauthier became the third Ducks rookie in franchise history to record three assists in a single period. … Fans loudly booed “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the Rogers Centre before the game. Some in the crowd also yelled out anti-Trump sentiments during the anthem.
UP NEXT
The Ducks play at Vancouver on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.