The game remained knotted at zero until the Kings busted open the door early in the second period. A series of three goals in just over 90 seconds gave Los Angeles all the scoring they needed, as the Oilers were unable to shake off the onslaught. A bad angle goal by Dwight King gave the Kings a 1-0 lead, when none other than Michael Mersch scored his first career goal. "Of course" you blurt out. "Michael Mersch!" Michael Mersch's goal was followed by another goal sixteen seconds later by Tyler Toffoli, and the Kings never looked back. LA skated away with a 5-2 victory, and the Oilers now sit last in the Pacific.
The Oilers still remain only four points away from third place in the Pacific. That's all well and good, but the team is going to have to win some games between now and the end of the season for that to hold any weight. Let's go to the tape.
The Oilers are saying
"I would say that he's pretty much ready to go, unless somebody tells me otherwise after our meeting here"
That's Oilers head coach Todd McLellan on defenceman Brandon Davidson. Davidson has been held out of the lineup for a couple weeks with a rib injury.
The opponents are saying
"The team played great in front of me. Fourteen shots. Any time you give that up, you know you're doing something right. I have to give a lot of credit to them. I was just trying to be there when they needed me." Source
That's Ducks goaltender Jon Gibson on picking up first star honours in Anaheim's 1-0 victory in Calgary last night.
Former Oilers captain Shawn Horcoff scored Anaheim's only goal in a game that saw Gibson face just fourteen shots.
Have some of this
B-DAVY - It sounds like Davidson is ready to come back. Now if we could just get Oscar Klefbom, they'll only be two defenceman short of an NHL team. Progress!
Iiro Pakarinen looks like he'll be out at least for tonight. Pakarinen registered only about a minute of ice time after absorbing a hit that saw him lose his helmet. Jujhar Khaira or Rob Klinkhammer will replace Pakarinen.
I've got Cam Talbot (5-10-2, .901 SV% / 3.03 GAA) getting the start for Edmonton. Talbot let in a crapper off of Dwight King, but I think they give him another shot. Frederik Andersen (5-8-4, .911 SV% / 2.59 GAA) will likely start for Anaheim. Jon Gibson is likely still fresh after facing just fourteen shots in Calgary.
Oilers have got to start winning some games. Miraculously, they're still only four points out of third in the Pacific, but every team they're trying to catch has at least one (and some have two) game(s) in hand. The Pacific division is the weakest division in recent memory. The Oilers have got to start putting points up.
Connor McDavid (clavicle), Andrew Ference (undisclosed), Nail Yakupov (ankle), Iiro Pakarinen (undisclosed) and Oscar Klefbom (hand), are out for the Oilers. Anaheim will be without defencemen Cam Fowler (ankle) and Simon Despres (concussion).
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