EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Cutter Gauthier broke a tie off a rebound with 4:52 left and the Anaheim Ducks beat Edmonton 6-4 on Wednesday night in Game 2 to even the first-round series, with Oilers star Connor McDavid slowed by an apparent leg injury.
McDavid appeared to catch an edge early in the second period after getting tangled up with teammate Mattias Ekholm and the Ducks’ Ian Moore. McDavid briefly left the game before returning, playing just over 24 minutes.
Game 3 is Friday night in Anaheim. Edmonton opened the series Monday night with a 4-3 victory.
Gauthier put the Ducks back in front after Josh Samanski — making his playoff debut — tied it at 4 with 6:09 to go. Ryan Poehling put it away with an empty-netter with 1:10 left, his second goal of the game. He scored short-handed in the second.
CUTTER GAUTHIER WITH A MASSIVE GOAL LATE IN THE THIRD 😱 #StanleyCup
— NHL (@NHL) April 23, 2026
🇺🇸: TBS
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet & @TVASports 2 pic.twitter.com/jjePfZxUMn
Gauthier also scored on a first-period power play and set up Alex Killorn's second-period goal on a man advantage. Killorn added two assists.
Jacob Trouba added a goal, fellow defenseman Jackson LaCombe had three assists and Lukas Dostal stopped 33 shots.
Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist for Edmonton. He returned for Game 1 from a lower-body injury against Nashville on March 15.
Connor Murphy and Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers, and Connor Ingram made 22 saves.
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