What are the Ducks’ keys to victory in Game 2?

The Anaheim Ducks thought they had the Edmonton Oilers on the ropes in Game 1, leading 3-2 midway through the third period, but goals from Jason Dickinson and Kasperi Kapanen powered the Oilers to victory. While the Ducks aren’t in trouble until they lose one of Games 3 or 4 in Anaheim, a win in Edmonton would go a long way to a series win.

So how do the Ducks pull off a win in Game 2? Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton broke down how the Ducks can tie the series on Daily Faceoff Live.

Carter Hutton: Get to Connor Ingram. I think they have to get to him. They have to make it hard on him. He’s not an oversized goalie. I think at times he starts to chase the game a bit. But if they’re not going to make it hard right in front of him in the paint, getting there, I don’t think they have a chance in hell in this series.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Yeah, and I think Connor Ingram is a high-floor goaltender. I think if you’re going to just throw stuff at him from the outside and get these perimeter looks, he’s going to stop them. This isn’t Stuart Skinner, a goalie who has a tendency to let in a squeaker and you can sit there and game plan and go, “hey, if we throw 25 pucks on him from the outside, 2 of them are probably going to eventually bounce past him”. Connor Ingram’s not that guy.

So my key to victory for the Ducks is to generate more off the rush, and also play more aggressive. I was stunned in Game 1 when the Oilers started to push in the middle parts of that third period. It was just Anaheim lobbing pucks out to center ice and almost saying, “just survive, just survive”. You can’t play that way against the Edmonton Oilers. They’re too deep. They have too much high-end skill. If you give them 12 chances to just come into the zone and try to get chances off the rush, they’re eventually going to burn you a little bit. So I think Anaheim’s just got to play a touch more aggressive.

You can watch the full episode here…