The Anaheim Ducks beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 on Thursday at Rogers Place, with defenseman Pavel Mintyukov scoring twice and setting up Beckett Sennecke’s go-ahead goal in a three-point night. The Ducks led 4-2 after two periods and held on as Edmonton scored twice in the final 3:36 of regulation.
Cutter Gauthier opened the scoring at 9:26 of the first period, and Mintyukov answered Connor McDavid’s second-period tally with back-to-back goals 3:41 apart to put Anaheim ahead for good. Sennecke added two goals of his own, including the eventual winner late in the second period. Edmonton outshot Anaheim 27-21 and dominated the faceoff circle 65.4% to 34.6%, but goaltender Matt Tomkins stopped just 16 of 21 shots in the loss.
Key Moments And How It Was Won
Anaheim’s second period decided the outcome. After McDavid batted in a Leon Draisaitl feed at 2:34 to put Edmonton ahead 2-1, Mintyukov scored twice in 3:37 to flip the score to 3-2. Sennecke capped the period with a wrist shot at 19:22 off a Tristan Luneau and Mintyukov assist, extending the lead to 4-2 heading into the third.
Sennecke struck again just 1:42 into the third period on a snap shot assisted by Leo Carlsson and Gauthier, pushing the margin to 5-2. Edmonton answered with Kasperi Kapanen’s backhand goal at 16:24 and Draisaitl’s snap shot with 45 seconds left, but the Oilers ran out of time. Anaheim converted two of eight power-play chances while Edmonton went two-for-six with the man advantage and added a short-handed goal.
Top Performers
Mintyukov led all skaters with three points on two goals and an assist, going plus-2 in 16:01 of ice time. Carlsson posted two assists, and Gauthier and Sennecke each factored in two goals or assists apiece for Anaheim. Laurent Brossoit made 23 saves on 27 shots for the win.
McDavid paced Edmonton with four points on a goal and three assists, extending his point total this season. Draisaitl added a goal and an assist, and Evan Bouchard scored once while assisting on Draisaitl’s late goal. Tomkins finished with 16 saves on 21 shots, a .762 save percentage.
What It Means
Anaheim improved to 8-7-1, climbing to 17 points in the Pacific Division. Edmonton fell to 11-3-3, still atop the Pacific with 25 points despite the setback. The season series between the two teams is now tied 1-1.
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