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Oilers struggle to keep up with Ducks in Game 3 loss

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25.04.2026

ANAHEIM — Too quick. Too big. And so far, too good.

They’re making the Edmonton Oilers look old and slow, these flashy young Anaheim Ducks.

“They're on top of us. They're forechecking hard. They're winning a lot of pucks, and we’ve just got to win more battles,” observed defenceman Mattias Ekholm. “We’ve got to execute at a higher level. We haven't brought close to our best yet.”

A wildly exciting, track meet of a Round 1 series is now led 2-1 by Anaheim, after a firewagon 7-4 win on Friday night.

The teams were tied until they weren’t. The Oilers kept up — until they couldn’t.

There’s a way for the veteran Oilers to beat the Ducks, but it requires Edmonton to play like a team that has taken some institutional knowledge from all those playoff battles of yore.

“You can help their speed or deter their speed, depending on how you play. We’re helping their speed right now,” said Zach Hyman, a minus-2 on a night when Edmonton’s top unit of five went a collective minus-14. “If you play the way that you want to play, you can control the flow of the game yourself.

“Any time you let in seven, it’s not a........

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