The Anaheim Ducks are becoming known as a team that spends a lot of time in the penalty box.
That could spell trouble when the Ducks visit the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday night.
Anaheim led the NHL in penalty minutes (280) heading into Saturday’s schedule, while the Oilers had the seventh-best power play in the league entering Saturday with a 25 percent success rate.
Anaheim’s penalty kill has performed well most of the season but is beginning to sag under the weight of constant usage.
The Ducks gave up two power-play goals in the first period on Friday against the visiting Los Angeles Kings and couldn’t make up the deficit in a 5-2 loss, their fifth straight setback.
“We’ve taken a lot of penalties,” Ducks forward Alex Killorn said. “That’s something that needs to be addressed. I don’t know how many minors we’ve gotten, but it seems like the other teams have been on the power play a lot more than we have.”
The Oilers led the NHL last season with a 32.4 percent success rate on the power play, the best mark in the history of the NHL. They finished in the top three with the man advantage in the three previous seasons as well.
Edmonton wasn’t nearly as productive on the power play to start this season but is showing signs of finding its groove, scoring three power-play goals in a 5-0 win at the Washington Capitals on Friday.
“Getting three power-play goals and the passes and the plays that they were making, it looks like they’re kind of out of that funk,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said.
Connor McDavid tallied four assists against the Capitals for the 33rd four-point game of his NHL career.
Leon Draisaitl had two goals and an assist to give him 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in the past nine games.
“You need your top players performing if you’re going to win on a regular basis,” Knoblauch said. “Obviously, you want your third and fourth lines chipping in, helping with the offense. They can do it periodically and help you win games, but in the long run, you need your top guys going.”
Winning via shutout was also out of the norm for the Oilers, who entered Saturday with the second-worst save percentage in the NHL (.876) and the third-worst goals-against average (3.79).
The Oilers hope to string together another solid game from top to bottom against the Ducks.
“We’ve played a lot of really good 20-minute hockey games this year, but in this league, that’s unfortunately not enough,” Draisaitl said. “I thought (Friday) all around was really good.”
Killorn scored his first goal with the Ducks in his 10th game on Friday. He signed with Anaheim in the offseason after spending the past 11 seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Radko Gudas, another offseason acquisition from the Florida Panthers, leads Anaheim defensemen in goals after scoring his fourth of the season on Friday.
Most of the offense has been coming from the second line of Mason McTavish, Frank Vatrano and Ryan Strome, however.
McTavish has 21 points in 20 games, Vatrano has 20 and Strome has 15 points in 19 games.
–Field Level Media
