McDavid, Draisaitl look to stay hot in clash vs. Ducks

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid (97) celebrates a goal by center Leon Draisaitl (29) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (Alex Gallardo / The Associated Press)

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will try to extend their respective point streaks to 13 games on Friday night when the Edmonton Oilers host the Anaheim Ducks.

McDavid has three goals and 20 assists during his point streak and Draisaitl has 10 goals and 14 assists. The Oilers have gone 9-2-1 since the duo's point streaks began, helping them stay on the heels of the Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings in the Pacific Division.

"You look at our record and where we are in the standings, and two big, big reasons are Connor and Leon. How well they've played at both ends of the rink and then also producing offensively every single night," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. "Very rarely are they held off the scoresheet, and you have success when your best players are your best players, and those two are our best players."

Edmonton also is receiving good production from forward Connor Brown, who has 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in his past 24 games.

Brown, who missed all but four games in the 2022-23 season with a torn ACL, recently has been awarded with time on the same line as McDavid.

"I feel back to where I was pre-injury," Brown said.

Zach Hyman had his eight-game point streak end in a 4-1 win against the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday, but McDavid, Brown and defenseman Mattias Ekholm each stepped up with multi-point efforts.

"We have a lot of different pieces in here that can play together," Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "It's fun sometimes to play with other guys, get some new looks. It keeps it fresh a little bit."

Knoblauch hasn't been shy about mixing up the lines, but the players have confidence that he sees things they might not.

"He really does things with a purpose. I don't think he's throwing darts at a wall," Brown said. "Any types of decisions he made are pretty calculated. He's a really smart coach. Also, we've got a lot of good players in here, so you can jumble it around and get some results a couple different ways."

The Ducks, meanwhile, opened their brief two-game road trip with a 4-3 overtime win against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. The victory boosted their winning streak to a season-high-tying three games.

John Gibson made 25 saves for Anaheim; Lukas Dostal likely will get the start against the Oilers.

Dostal made 20 stops in a 5-3 win against Edmonton on Sunday. He's coming off a 32-save performance in a 3-2 win against the visiting New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.

"I've said this repeatedly -- he's mature for his age, particularly in a goalie's life when you're that young, to have his maturity level," Ducks coach Greg Cronin said. "He doesn't get rattled. He's got a very high standard that he sets for himself, even when he plays pucks."

Cronin referred to a couple of instances when Dostal covered the puck against the Devils and drew a whistle, which prevented the Ducks from changing lines.

"I saw his face, you could tell he was disappointed in himself, but you can see by his body language when little details like that slip, he immediately takes ownership of it," Cronin said. "You always say, it's not the number of saves, it's the timeliness of the saves."