The Ducks (1-1) head back home for the first playoff game at Honda Center in eight years as they look to take a lead in Round 1’s series against the Oilers (1-1).
Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. PT and will air locally on KCOP-13 and Victory+. The game is also nationally televised on TNT.
Anaheim evened the series with a 6-4 win in Edmonton on Wednesday. Cutter Gauthier, the team’s regular season leading goal scorer, had a three-point night including scoring the team’s first goal as well as the game-winner with just under five minutes left.
While the team had a two-score lead disappear, they didn’t fold. Despite being young, the Ducks had plenty of experience coming back from inopportune situations all season long, and that earned knowledge and expertise showed in the win on Wednesday.
“I think you’ve seen it all season long where we have that resilience and that confidence in this locker room that we’re never out of a single game,” said Gauthier. “Last game we were able to come back and tonight we had the lead. It was fun playing with the lead a little bit, after being down (in Game 1) and we’re happy the guys were able to secure the ‘W’ tonight.”
Ryan Poeling had two goals, including a short-handed score in the second period, as well as an empty netter for insurance in the third. The Ducks special teams was also lethal on the penalty kill, stifling the Oilers 0-4 on their power play chances on the night.
Anaheim has also controlled Connor McDavid as he’s yet to notch a point in the series.
Gameday Guide | Game 3 Factoids
Head coach Joel Quenneville said lineups for Anaheim will remain the same for Friday’s tilt; Radko Gudas (lower-body) remains out while Troy Terry, who once again missed morning skate for maintenance, is in.
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said Jason Dickinson is a game-time decision while Adam Henrique, who exited Game 1, will miss the two games in Anaheim as he didn’t travel with the team.
The return to home ice is a welcomed sight for the Ducks as the team went 24-13-4 at Honda Center in the regular season and looks to build off Wednesday’s performance in front of their fans.
“[We’re looking to] just kind of take the momentum from the last game using our home ice and crowd hopefully to our advantage feeding off that energy,” Alex Killorn said of the Ducks’ Game 3 mentality.
“We expect it from the start it’s going to be a loud building, it’s going to be fun being a part of it and seeing playoff hockey here for fans in a long time is what everybody loves about this game,” Quenneville added. “Looking forward to seeing the response from our team. Getting the privilege to play in front of our group right now and playing a playoff game here that’s got some meaning, we expect our guys to be excited about being out there and playing for the fans.”
