Ducks Edge Oilers in Tight Battle, Gauthier and Dostal Steal the Show
So here’s how it went down Monday night at Honda Center — and yeah, if you're an Oilers fan, it was a tough one to watch. Edmonton came into Anaheim needing every point they could get to stay competitive in the Pacific Division race, but the Ducks weren’t about to roll over. Despite the Kings losing to the Kraken, the Oilers couldn’t take advantage and fell 3-2 to Anaheim, keeping them four points behind LA with five games left for both teams.
Now, here’s the kicker: the Oilers were seriously short-handed. No Connor McDavid, no Leon Draisaitl — both still nursing lower-body injuries. That left Edmonton running 11 forwards and 6 defensemen, and throwing rookie Olivier Rodrigue between the pipes for his first NHL start. He did what he could, stopping 18 shots, but it was Anaheim’s young guns who turned the tide.
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Cutter Gauthier had himself a game. The rookie lit it up in the second period, scoring twice. His first came off a smooth feed from Leo Carlsson, blasting a one-timer from the right circle. A few minutes later, he circled around Evan Bouchard and tucked in a slick backhand to give the Ducks the lead. That was Gauthier’s third multi-goal performance this season, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for Anaheim.
The Oilers actually struck first — Adam Henrique found the back of the net late in the first after a defensive giveaway by Radko Gudas caused chaos in front of Lukas Dostal. Henrique cashed in, tipping in a blast from Jake Walman. But despite piling on 49 shots in the game, Edmonton couldn’t figure out Dostal, who stood on his head with 47 saves, including a couple huge ones down the stretch.
One of the biggest moments came early in the third. Edmonton started the period with nearly four minutes of power-play time but came up empty. They went 0-for-6 on the man advantage overall. Right after killing off that extended penalty, the Ducks flipped the script — Mason McTavish broke away and scored to make it 3-1.
Jeff Skinner pulled the Oilers back within one with just over three minutes left, tipping in a Bouchard point shot with Rodrigue pulled for the extra attacker. Edmonton pushed hard in the final seconds — Bouchard nearly tied it with a rocket that rang off the post — but Anaheim held firm.
With this loss, Edmonton wraps up their road trip at 2-2 and will need to regroup quickly as they return home to face the St. Louis Blues. If they want any shot at climbing in the standings, they’ll need to start stacking wins — and fast. The Ducks, meanwhile, are showing some real flashes despite a tough season, now sitting 14-6-1 in their last 21 home games. Not bad for a team looking to build for the future.
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