{"id":519917,"date":"2026-11-05T23:14:30","date_gmt":"2026-11-05T23:14:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/519917\/"},"modified":"2026-11-05T23:14:30","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T23:14:30","slug":"pre-scout-oilers-begin-homestand-against-quack-tastic-ducks-power-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/519917\/","title":{"rendered":"Pre-Scout: Oilers begin homestand against quack-tastic Ducks power play"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was transit day: the Edmonton Oilers<\/a> travelled back from New Jersey on Wednesday instead of late Tuesday night, taking five of a possible six points from the quick three-game trip.\u00a0Considering how tilted the ice was in the second period, coming away with a point against the Devils in the eventual 4-3 shootout loss<\/a> is a win in my books. I\u2019m not a fan of moral victories, but I thought the Oilers showed a lot of resilience, especially given New Jersey\u2019s significant rest advantage entering the night.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the micro-view, you can\u2019t be too upset about that one. In the macro-view, obvious excitement about the Oilers\u2019 terrific 11-2-3 start and first in the NHL in points percentage when their plane took off. But there are areas of their game that I\u2019d label as trends.<\/p>\n

The long-change second periods aren\u2019t even lulls \u2014 sometimes they go 10-20 minutes deep \u2014 but they are a sore spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although they\u2019ve outscored the enemy 23-18 in the second period<\/a>, compared to 22-20 in the third period, the game is in the balance in those second periods, so the contrast is more defined. Especially because their starts have been so good.<\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s contest versus New Jersey, as well as the Detroit game the week prior, both shootout losses, featured prolonged periods with very few shots (or even zero shots), and a lack of offensive zone time. When they did wrestle control of the puck, they were gaining the red line, chipping and changing.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Edmonton is winning 20-7 in first periods. Pretty damn good.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Devils game was just the second time they\u2019ve lost after scoring the first goal of the game, the other being opening night against Vancouver.<\/p>\n

Oilers record when scoring first goal: 9-0-2Oilers record when allowing first goal: 2-2-1.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been noticeable: the Oilers start on time.<\/p>\n

And because of how well they\u2019re playing in the first period, the Oilers rarely enter the second frame trailing. Just a quarter of the Oilers games are they trailing after the second period, and they actually improved their record to 1-2-1 with the Devils result.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Interestingly, the Oilers are 1-0-2 when tied after two periods, and a perfect 9-0-0 when leading through 40 minutes. Similarly, in nine out of 16 games, the Oilers have never trailed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lineup changesMike Babcock did decide to tinker with the lineup and get Jake Walman<\/a> back into the fold, as well as Max Jones, who\u2019d been out for three games and four games, respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jones provided energy with his fresh legs on a fourth line with Filip Hallander and Owen Michaels that banged and crashed effectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But if you\u2019re looking for warts in Walman\u2019s games, there is some to be found. He\u2019s being kept on a short leash and played a season-low 11:46 of ice time. Some of that could be attributed to the amount of special teams in the second and third periods, but it\u2019s also a sign of how the coaching staff views his game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s his lowest ice time since being benched in the third period and overtime against Ottawa<\/a> back in March, and second-fewest minutes (excluding leaving a game due to injury) dating back to March 2022, his final games with St. Louis before being traded to Detroit.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll keep an eye on whether either will stay in the lineup against the Ducks, or whether Ty Emberson draws back in. This starts a four-game homestand, and the pace of games doesn\u2019t let up until next week, with the team in action every other night. I don\u2019t blame the coaching staff for trying to sprinkle in fresh bodies.<\/p>\n

Ducks power play on historic heater<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t take an expert to see the Anaheim Ducks blueline entering the season and thinking there would be struggles.\u00a0Get beyond the obviously talented Jackson LaCombe, suddenly Tristan Luneau must be a capable second of third defenceman, and any injury would feel significant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s played out in the early going.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the weekend, coach Joel Quenneville sent a message<\/a> and started third goaltender Laurent Brossoit in search of saves. Before their Sunday game against Ottawa, Anaheim had won just once in their last eight, surrendering a three-goal lead to Vancouver, then giving up a touchdown to Buffalo.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The old man had a hunch. Although not beauties in giving up seven goals across those games, it\u2019s back-to-back wins, surviving a late charge on Tuesday night in Vancouver to win 5-4.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Part of that has been Cutter Gauthier awakening<\/a> from his early-season slumber. Fresh off getting 15 sheets in the off-season, he\u2019d been quiet on the scoresheet. Now he\u2019s rocking back-to-back hat tricks, eight goals in his last three games, and a five-game point streak.\u00a0\u201cWe have a lot of high-level guys who have a lot of poise and are able to see plays a step ahead of the game,\u201d said Gauthier<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur power-play (and assistant) coach Jay Woodcroft has done an amazing job identifying a \u2018PK\u2019s\u2019 weaknesses before games and giving us a good pre-scout of knowing how to hit them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Their power play is downright scary at the moment. First in the NHL at 38 per cent, they\u2019re on the best three-game heater in nearly 20 years, going 10-for-12 in that stretch. You\u2019d have to go back to the 2008-09 Minnesota Wild to find a team that scored that many PP goals in a three-game span.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a group, every time we go out there, we think we\u2019re going to score,\u201d said Beckett Sennecke. \u201cWe\u2019re rolling pretty hot right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

To say this will be top of mind for the Oilers, who went 3-for-5 vs. the Devils, and who\u2019ve struggled against this unit dating back to last year, is an understatement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the previous matchup<\/a> back on Oct. 7, the Ducks opened the game by scoring on their first two man-advantage chances, but the Oilers rallied to give the last five.\u00a0Combining the regular season and playoffs, the Ducks went 12-for-28 on the PP vs. the Oilers in 2025-26.\u00a0Edmonton\u2019s PK fell to 21st in the league and sits at 73.9 per cent on the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s one easy key to the game.<\/p>\n

Notes:\u00a0Since the ultra-elite start by Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Vasily Podkolzin five-on-five, those numbers have come back to reality. Since the Oct. 17 game against the Utah Mammoth, that line has been outscored 6-4 over the last eight games, but continues to outshoot the opposition 53-39, according to Natural Stat Trick<\/a>.\u00a0For context, overall this season that line is 18-6 in goals, outshooting 102-74, and ahead 55-35 in high-danger chances. However, the fancies are less kind from where they stood, with a 55.97 per cent expected goal percentage.\u00a0Fresh off being the franchise\u2019s games-played leader<\/a>, Nugent-Hopkins registered his fourth multi-point game of the season vs. New Jersey, and his third in his last four games. That\u2019s nine points in seven games to be tied fifth on the team. Tonight, expect a video tribute, along with the Oilers donning the Hometown Remix jerseys for the first time.\u00a0Closing the book on the road trip, Bouchard extended his season-opening road point streak to eight games. He becomes just the third defenseman in the past decade to record a run of that length. Bouchard remains third in the league in points, one greater than Nathan MacKinnon and six clear of the next defenceman in Quinn Hughes.If the Oilers make roster changes tonight, you would have to consider Alex Formenton. His line with Jason Dickinson and Mathieu Joseph struggled mightily, outshot 5-2, with shot attempts 14-3. Formenton was noticeably out-battled by Arseny Gritsyuk in the second period, which led to a chance that rang off the post. He hasn\u2019t missed a game yet. The question is whether Mike Babcock and DJ Smith will scratch a forward penalty-killer considering the hyper-aggressive style. Jason Dickinson is still ramping up with his PK ice-time.Kasperi Kapanen already has half of last season\u2019s goal total, in which he played 41 games, four compared to eight. His nine points are just eight shy of last year\u2019s numbers as well.There has been little buzz about Zach Hyman and his neck injury. Meanwhile, Babcock did mention that Levi is skating<\/a> before Tuesday\u2019s game. Isaac Howard is out \u201ca couple weeks.\u201dTristan Jarry\u2019s shutout streak lasted 153:59, an impressive mark, and the sixth longest (regular season and playoffs combined) in franchise history. Tommy Salo holds that mark, not allowing a goal in 192:52 back in 2000-01.The only other Duck to record three straight multi-goal games, as Cutter Gauthier has done, is Paul Kariya. No one else has recorded back-to-back hat-tricks.Jackson LaCombe could tie a team record tonight held by Scott Niedermayer for the longest assist streak. LaCombe has helpers in eight straight games.Pavel Mintyukov returned to the lineup Sunday and played a season-high 23:07 against the Canucks.Anaheim is hopeful to get Troy Terry and Ian Moore off IR sooner rather than later, but it likely won\u2019t happen tonight. Neither has played a game this season.AJ Greer was placed on IR after he was hit in the head by Dylan Cozens on Sunday. Ryan Poehling hasn\u2019t played for nearly a month and is still considered week-to-week.Beckett Sennecke is the youngest player in Ducks history to record a four-assist game at 20 years, 279 days old, beating out Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Just be careful with those macaroons on Instagram, young fella\u2026After the offer sheet that changed the world, Leo Carlsson was ninth in league scoring before Wednesday\u2019s game, with five goals and 22 points. His career-high is 67 points.Games like these can be a flat spot for the Oilers. A quick road trip, then right back to action on home ice. Expect a high-scoring game as the Oilers are first in goals per game and the Ducks are sixth, while being third-last in goals against per game.Edmonton beat Anaheim 5-2 back on Oct. 7, but are 5-5 in their last 10 head-to-head.Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and co-host of Pregaming and Postgaming. He\u2019s also been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years of news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, Menzies collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues. Follow him on X at Menzies_4<\/a>.PRESENTED BY CAPITAL GMC BUICK\"\"Hockey fans recognize elite performance instantly, and that\u2019s exactly how Capital GMC Buick<\/a> operates. With one of the city\u2019s deepest selections of top-quality GMC and Buick vehicles and a customer experience built to win year after year, this dealership consistently leads the pack. Five current NHL players proudly drive vehicles from Capital GMC Buick, and for good reason. The store has been rated the #1 GM dealership in Canada by DealerRater for three consecutive years, is the only GM dealer in Edmonton endorsed by J.D. Power as a Dealer of Excellence, and has raised over $30,000 for the Stollery Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was transit day: the Edmonton Oilers travelled back from New Jersey on Wednesday instead of late Tuesday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519918,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164],"class_list":["post-519917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}