ANAHEIM, Calif. — Already tumbling through the longest losing streak of a season to forget, the Ducks faced down the team that had beaten them most handily during this slump, the Edmonton Oilers, and lost again, 3-1, a score that accurately reflected a far more competitive game than their 6-0 loss at Edmonton’s hands just four days earlier.
While the Ducks have had competition aboard the fail boat – Arizona has also lost eight straight and Chicago has kicked its losing ways into high gear by posting the worst record since the trade deadline – there’s little doubt about who the hottest team in the NHL has been since the swaps stopped. Edmonton has gone 15-2-1 since March 1, the Oilers debut of newly acquired defenseman Mattias Ekholm, posting a points percentage of .861. That mark is 83 percentage points higher than any other team in the league. Meanwhile, the Ducks have four games remaining, which could put them past their franchise-worst streak of 11 winless games last season.
Winger Troy Terry – who had missed the team’s four-game trip with his wife expecting the couple’s first child – scored for the Ducks. He is tied with Trevor Zegras for the team lead in goals at 22, but he won’t travel to Arizona for their next game. Lukas Dostal made 30 saves.
Klim Kostin scored the first Edmonton goal and assisted on the second by fellow towering forward Nick Bjugstad. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins became the third Edmonton skater to reach 100 points this season, and former Kings goalie Jack Campbell played a calm game in net, making 27 saves.
Nugent-Hopkins, who had the assist on Zach Hyman’s empty-net goal late in the third period, joined Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to reach the century mark this season with the Oilers. The last time a team had three or more players with at least 100 points was Pittsburgh in 1995-96 (Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and Ron Francis).
McDavid also had an assist on Hyman’s goal to move him within two points of 150.
Approaching the five-minute mark of the third period, the Ducks halved their deficit. Forward Adam Henrique stole the puck near the blue line, flipping it hastily to defenseman Simon Benoit. He kicked the puck ahead to Terry in the left circle before occupying the stick and then the body of defenseman Brett Kulak. The drive by Benoit opened up room in the low slot for Terry to rip home his 22nd goal of 2022-23, which tied him with center Zegras for the team lead.
They managed to get Dostal pulled from his cage but with 1:42 to play, the Oilers turned an intercepted pass into an empty-net goal, with all three members of their top line touching the puck before Hyman deposited it into the net.
The Ducks nearly made it through half the match without giving up a goal, but with 10:24 left in the second period Edmonton opened the scoring. Kostin and linemate Mattias Janmark dovetailed into the slot before splitting abruptly, at which point Janmark swept the puck to Kostin for a redirection goal, his 11th and first since March 1, as he fell to the ice.
Kostin would play the role of playmaker 3:10 later. A feeble clearing attempt found Kostin’s stick below the goal line, at which point he threaded a pass through traffic to Bjugstad for his 17th goal of the campaign. Since his acquisition via trade from Arizona on March 2, Bjugstad has four goals and six points.
The loss also guaranteed the Ducks will finish with the fewest points in a full 82-game season in franchise history. The previous low was 65 points in 1997-98, which was the fourth-worst record in the league that season.
The Ducks played most of Wednesday’s game without winger Brock McGinn, who exited the game with an upper-body injury and did not return.
_____
