Anaheim Ducks (P1) vs. Edmonton Oilers (P2)
Season series: Edmonton 3-2-0 (Anaheim was 2-1-2)
Last playoff meeting: 2006 Western Conference Final; Oilers won series 4-1
All-time playoff series: Oilers lead 1-0
How they got here
The Anaheim Ducks, who won the Pacific Division by going 46-23-13 (105 points), swept the Calgary Flames in four games in the best-of-7 Western Conference First Round. The Edmonton Oilers finished second in the division (47-26-9) and eliminated the San Jose Sharks in six games.
The best-of-7 Western Conference Second Round series begins at Honda Center on Wednesday (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, Sportsnet, TVA Sports).
Three of the four first-round games for the Ducks were decided by one goal, including an overtime win in Game 3.
Edmonton went from 70 points in 2015-16 to 103 this season. The last time the Oilers surpassed 100 points in a season was 1986-87, when they won the Stanley Cup.
The Oilers are in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2006. The Ducks are 18-9 in playoff games over the past three years.
5 storylines
Ryan Getzlaf leads way: Getzlaf, the captain, looked rejuvenated after the Ducks mandated five-day break ended in early March and it carried over against the Flames. He was tied for the Ducks scoring lead in the first round with five points (three goals, two assists) and looked like he had been playing with linemate Patrick Eaves for years, not weeks. Forward Rickard Rakell and defenseman Shea Theodore also had five points each. Getzlaf led all Ducks forwards in average ice time in the first round (22:18), and imposed his will from the start with a goal, an assist and a message-sending hit against Flames defenseman Mark Giordano in Game 1.
Connor McDavid's game-breaking ability: The generational talent can produce something out of nothing whenever he steps onto the ice. McDavid, who had four points (two goals, two assists) in six games, was largely held in check by the Sharks and didn't score his second goal of the series until an empty-netter in the last second of Game 6. McDavid, the League's regular-season scoring leader with 100 points, will test the shut-down abilities of the Ducks' best checking line, center Ryan Kesler, a Selke Trophy nominee, and wings Andrew Cogliano and Jakob Silfverberg. Oilers coach Todd McLellan said McDavid's line eventually had an impact against the Sharks, in less obvious ways. "It's not about winning a scoring title in the playoffs," McLellan said. "Connor was tremendous. His line was excellent. They played with tenacity and wore the other team down so the other lines could go out and create some offense."
Health of Ducks defense: Theodore, a rookie defenseman, was a revelation in the first round but Anaheim will need No. 1 defenseman Cam Fowler and top four defenseman Sami Vatanen to return if they want to go on a long playoff run. Fowler, who missed the first round with a knee injury sustained on April 4, has resumed practicing. Vatanen (upper body) was limited to one game against the Flames, but practiced on Monday.
Cam Talbot: So much for those late-season fears about Talbot's heavy workload. Talbot, who set an Oilers record with 42 victories in the regular season, had a 2.03 goals-against average, .927 save percentage and two shutouts against the Sharks. He has plenty of help in front of him. Defenseman Kris Russell led all players in the series with 27 blocked shots, including five in Game 6. Russell was also the League leader during the regular season (213).
Ryan Kesler plays the heavy: Kesler doesn't run from the role of the villain, rather he embraces it. The more booing, the better. When the series shifts to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4, there will be plenty of it, based on the previous reception given to Kesler in Canadian cities. He'll have his hands full trying to contain McDavid. Kesler won the Selke Trophy as the League's top defensive forward when he was with the Vancouver Canucks in 2011. He earned another nomination this season -- his fifth -- with another strong two-way performance (22 goals, 36 assists, plus-8 rating).
By the numbers
18: The Ducks haven't lost in regulation since March 10 at St. Louis (4-3), going 11-0-3 in the regular season and 4-0 in the playoffs.
2: The number of game-winning goals by Oilers forward Zack Kassian in the series against the Sharks. In 79 regular-season games he had seven goals, none of them game-winners. Kassian has six game-winners in 313 NHL regular-season games.
53.4: The percentage of faceoffs won by the Ducks against the Flames. Anaheim was third in the League in the first round, trailing the Minnesota Wild (57.4) and Toronto Maple Leafs (54.0).
In the spotlight
Ducks: John Gibson, goaltender -- Gibson, 23, has been dubbed the Ducks goaltender of the future for years. His play finally caught up with the hype when he won his first playoff series, starting all four games. Gibson had some help from backup Jonathan Bernier in Game 3, when he was pulled after allowing four goals on 16 shots, but responded with a strong bounce-back performance in Game 4 by making 36 saves. He went 25-16-9 with a 2.22 GAA, .924 save percentage and six shutouts, which ranked sixth in the League, in the regular season
Oilers: Leon Draisaitl, forward -- The biggest impact player against Anaheim in the regular season was not McDavid or even former Ducks forward Patrick Maroon. It was Draisaitl, 21, who seems to love playing against the Ducks. He had eight points (six goals, two assists) in five games, including two goals in overtime. Against the Sharks, he wasn't much of a factor until Game 5, when he set up the game-winner in overtime with a brilliant pass, and scored the first goal, on a breakaway, in the series-clinching Game 6. McLellan said after the game that Draisaitl had the flu.
Keys to victory
Ducks: Their ability to contain McDavid and 5-on-5 play. One of the keys to their first-round victory was their ability at even strength. The Ducks have plenty of veteran leadership with Getzlaf, Kesler and Corey Perry. They will need to get the consistent goaltending they received from Gibson in the first round.
Oilers: Speed, physical play and Talbot. Talbot likely will be tested more than he was against the Sharks, who were ailing at center. Anaheim is far deeper down the middle with Getzlaf, Kesler, Antoine Vermette and Nate Thompson. Milan Lucic, Maroon and Kassian all played a role in the Oilers advancing to the second round -- three big physical bodies that changed their makeup and approach. Now the Oilers have the ability to push back physically against Ducks, something you probably wouldn't have said about them in a previous era.
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