Anaheim Ducks push Edmonton Oilers to brink with overtime Game 4 win
Ryan Poehling scored a contentious overtime winner as the Anaheim Ducks beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 at the Honda Center on Sunday to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.
The narrow victory pushes the back-to-back Western Conference champions to the brink of a shock first-round elimination.
Poehling’s decisive strike came just two minutes and 29 seconds into the extra period, squeezing reluctantly under newly promoted goaltender Tristan Jarry.
An extensive video review was required before officials confirmed the puck had crossed the line beneath the netminder’s skate, sparking wild celebrations in California.
Ducks rally to overcome early deficit
The hosts had earlier shown immense resilience to recover from a two-goal deficit after Kasperi Kapanen and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins struck early for the visitors.
Cutter Gauthier and Mikael Granlund scored second-period power-play goals to level the contest, showcasing the ample skill of a revamped roster competing in their first post-season series for eight years.
Evan Bouchard temporarily restored the Canadian franchise’s advantage early in the third period, ripping a wrist shot home just four seconds into a man advantage.
However, Jeffrey Viel punched home a rebound with six and a half minutes remaining in regulation to force the decisive sudden-death period.
Goaltending duel highlights frantic Game 4
Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch opted to start Jarry in net over Connor Ingram after a shambolic defensive display in Game 3, and the former Pittsburgh Penguin responded well with 34 saves.
At the other end, Lukas Dostal stopped 24 shots for the rampant home side, who have remarkably scored 20 goals across the four games of this series.
The Czech goaltender produced a spectacular, sprawling pad save late in the third period to deny superstar centre Connor McDavid on a breakaway.
The Oilers must now win Game 5 on home ice on Tuesday night to keep their Stanley Cup aspirations alive.
