The Edmonton Oilers struck first in their Round 1 playoff series, but the Anaheim Ducks showed enough fight to suggest this matchup may not be a walkover.
After Edmonton’s 4-3 win in Game 1 on Monday, a former NHL head coach has now offered what is essentially a Hail Mary to slow down the dynamic duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Ex-NHL Coach Offers Plan to Stop Oilers
Edmonton entered the series as heavy favorites, powered by McDavid, the league’s top goal scorer in the regular season, and Draisaitl, who returned for Game 1 after missing the final stretch and immediately contributed with two assists. The Oilers are a seasoned playoff group, having reached back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals before falling to the Florida Panthers both times.
On the other side, Anaheim is a much younger team built around emerging talents like Cutter Gauthier, Leo Carlsson, and Beckett Sennecke. The Ducks are back in the postseason for the first time since 2018, and despite the experience gap, they made life difficult for Edmonton in Game 1.
The Oilers jumped out to a 2-0 lead late in the opening period on goals from Jason Dickinson and Kasperi Kapanen. Anaheim responded in the second period, with Troy Terry and Carlsson tying the game before Terry’s power-play marker gave the Ducks a 3-2 advantage. Dickinson later equalized in the third, and Kapanen sealed the 4-3 victory late, but it was far from comfortable for Edmonton.
Former NHL head coach Peter Laviolette believes Anaheim’s best chance lies in aggressively limiting McDavid and Draisaitl. “For me, it’s time and space. The quicker you close, the quicker you get stick on puck, the quicker you disrupt them or try to disrupt them, I think the better off you’re going to be from a defensive standpoint,” Laviolette said.
According to Laviolette, arriving with urgency, and even a bit of attitude, can help reduce the offensive freedom that fuels the Oilers’ stars.
Still, he acknowledged the challenge. McDavid and Draisaitl have been among the league’s most dangerous scorers for years, and even well-executed defensive plans don’t always work against players of that caliber.
Despite the loss, Anaheim proved it won’t go quietly. Whether they can implement Laviolette’s aggressive, pressure-heavy strategy remains to be seen.
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Game 2 shifts back on Wednesday in Edmonton, where the Oilers will look to extend their series lead, and the Ducks will try to turn that “Hail Mary” plan into reality.
