Oilers Outshoot Ducks, Fall 3-2 in Loss Marked by Wild Officiating

The Edmonton Oilers capped off their four-game road trip with a 3-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, despite dominating the shot clock 47-21. Not only did the Oilers get “goalied,” by Ducks netminder Lukas Dostal (a spectacular 47-save performance), but some extremely inconsistent and questionable officiating let the game get out of hand, leading to two more close calls with injuries for an already decimated Oilers roster.

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Overall, the Oilers controlled play for much of the game. “We had lots of opportunities to put the puck in the back of the net,” said Darnell Nurse. “That’s part of the game. We’ve got to find a way to capitalize… we didn’t do that enough tonight.” Edmonton got close in the final stages of the game, as a late goal by Jeff Skinner to bring the Oilers within one gave them a chance to pull the goaltender a second time. They failed to score a third goal and beat Dostal.

Head coach Kris Knoblauch acknowledged the disappointment. “For the amount of opportunities that we had, we certainly deserved to have more than two goals,” he said. “After starting 2-0 on this trip, we’re disappointed, but I thought tonight’s effort was one where we probably should’ve won.”

This Game Got Nasty With Two Other Close Calls on Injuries

With a shorthanded lineup and the playoffs approaching, the Oilers couldn’t afford to lose anyone else, but they almost lost two players.

Perry went down the tunnel after getting hit by Gudas. He eventually returned. Vasily Podkolzin also got tangled up with Gudas, and Podkolzin’s leg bent awkwardly underneath his body weight as they attempted not to fall. Podkolzin couldn’t put weight on the leg as he was helped off the ice. Amazingly, he too eventually returned.

The Oilers’ frustrations extended beyond Dostal’s heroics. Radko Gudas‘s blatant high shot to the head of Corey Perry went uncalled, prompting analyst Louie DeBrusk to lose his cool on the officiating: “He pops him, that’s a penalty—that was absolutely missed by the officials.” He then noted, as the game continued to get out of hand, that the officials created the problem and told them on air, “Have fun cleaning this up.”

It was a terribly officiated game, and calls were inexplicably ignored for the first half and then several penalties were called in the latter stages of the game. It was the kind of game where analysts were wondering if the Oilers should throw out the result and send a message. If not for a four minute power play to start the third period, Edmonton might have done exactly that.

Still, the officiating wasn’t reason enough for the Oilers not to win. They had their chances and just couldn’t finish.

Despite the loss, Evan Bouchard reached a significant milestone, becoming just the second defenceman in franchise history after Paul Coffey to record back-to-back 50-assist seasons. However, he struggled defensively, getting walked twice in the game and turning the puck over, leading to key goals by the Ducks.

As lucky as the Oilers got on the injury front Monday night, they need to get healthy.

Next: Could Calvin Pickard Start Game 1 for Oilers?: Skinner a Maybe