GAME THREAD: Edmonton Oilers @ Anaheim Ducks

Edmonton Oilers (21-18-3) (5th, Pacific

Anaheim Ducks (12-25-4) (8th, Pacific)

11 Jan 2023

Honda Center

8 PM MT

TV: Sportsnet One, Sportsnet West

Radio: 630 CHED

SB Nation Opponent: Anaheim Calling

THE OILERS were flat out beat by a better Kings club on Monday night. LA’s power play put up four goals en route to doubling up the Oilers by a 6-3 margin. Stuart Skinner was chased from the net, Jack Campbell made an appearance, but Kevin Fiala and Alex Iafallo each had a pair for the Kings as they rolled. The Oilers are five points behind third place Seattle and have played three more games. They absolutely need two points in Anaheim tonight.

THREE THINGS TO LOOK FOR

• Defenceman Vincent Desharnais is set to make his NHL debut tonight for the Oilers. Desharnais was drafted in the seventh round in 2016, he spent four years at Providence before joining the Condors full-time in 2020. Fast forward to January 2023, and the 26 year old rearguard is set to make his NHL debut against the Ducks. Good luck out there.
• Edmonton’s PK was flat-out awful last game. Edmonton will need to do a lot better on the PK than to allow four goals shorthanded. Fortunately for them, the Ducks’ power play is a whisker over 15%, good for second-last in the league.
• Oilers netminder Jack Campbell was credited with a loss in LA, but he played well against Islanders six nights ago. He’s got a decent chance against a Ducks squad that’s struggled to do much in the goal scoring department all year (2.27 GPG, 31st). Campbell has had a tough go for much of the year (9-8-1, .877 SV% / 3.68 GAA) but picking up a win against a struggling Ducks team ought to bring a little sunlight to his numbers.

Oilers are really struggling out there, they’re now seven points away from the third place Seattle Kraken. Seattle has two games in hand. For God’s sake, the Oilers need a statement win and to score six goals against a Ducks squad with just twelve wins on the year.