Draisaitl’s 2 goals lift the Oilers past the Ducks 4-1 to stave off elimination

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Leon Draisaitl scored a pair of goals and Evan Bouchard chipped in with three assists as the Edmonton Oilers staved off elimination by beating the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 on Tuesday night.

The Oilers now trail the best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series 3-2 with game 6 on Thursday night in Anaheim.

Vasily Podkolzin and Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers who had previously allowed six separate leads to slip away in the first four games of the series.

Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had a pair of assists. Edmonton is now 18-3 when scoring first in a game when facing elimination.

Alex Killorn scored for the Ducks.

Connor Ingram made 29 stops for Edmonton, while Ville Husso recorded 10 saves for Anaheim after coming in to relieve Lukas Dostal, who allowed three goals on nine shots.

For the fifth straight game the Oilers struck first, scoring on the game’s first shot just 2:22 into the contest as Podkolzin beat Dostal high for his second of the postseason.

Edmonton took a 2-0 lead 8:33 into the opening period as a point shot was deflected twice, the second time through Dostal’s legs by Hyman.

The Oilers took a 3-0 lead just 1:14 later as Draisaitl tipped Bouchard's point shot in for his second of the playoffs. That spelled an early end of the night for Dostal.

Anaheim got on the board on the power play 8:26 into the second period as Mason McTavish dropped it back to Killorn, who extended his points streak to four games with his third goal of the playoffs.

Edmonton responded with a power-play goal a couple of minutes later on a one-timer by Draisaitl, who tied Wayne Gretzky for the most postseason power-play goals in franchise history at 23.

Edmonton has played the most playoff games of any NHL team since 2022 with 80, two more than the Florida Panthers, who beat the Oilers in the last two Stanley Cup finals before failing to qualify this season.

Playing in his 80th career playoff game, Bouchard collected his 88th point, moving into a tie for third place for players through 80 games with Brian Leetch, behind only Bobby Orr (92) and Paul Coffey (92).

McDavid (63 points) passed Adam Oates for the second-most points in NHL history when trailing in a playoff series. Only Gretzky (80) has more.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Edmonton Oilers center Matt Savoie, left, blocks the shot by Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe during the third period of Game 4 in the first round of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Anaheim Ducks center Tim Washe, top, reacts on goal by left wing Jeffrey Viel during the third period of Game 4 in the first round of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers, Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl celebrates a goal by center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with the bench during the first period of Game 4 in the first round of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks, Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl, left, controls the puck as Anaheim Ducks right wing Beckett Sennecke defends during the second period of Game 4 in the first round of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a three-run homer and the Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres 8-3 on Tuesday night to stop their three-game slide.

Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner each had a two-run double for the Cubs. Edward Cabrera (3-0) pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs and six hits while striking out seven.

Chicago relievers Hoby Milner and Ryan Rolison combined for 3 1/3 hitless innings.

Xander Bogaerts launched a solo homer for San Diego. Ty France and Luis Campusano each had an RBI single.

Padres reliever Kyle Hart (0-1) took the loss.

With the Cubs leading 5-3 in the seventh, Crow-Armstrong clubbed a 410-foot drive to center field off a center-cut changeup from reliever Wandy Peralta for his second homer this season.

The score was tied at 2 in the sixth when Hoerner hit a liner to center off reliever David Morgan to drive in Nicky Lopez and Crow-Armstrong.

San Diego starter Walker Buehler gave up a two-run double to center by Swanson in the second. Swanson was removed at shortstop in the bottom half due to a left glute cramp.

Buehler lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and three hits while striking out four.

Chicago’s Ian Happ walked in the second, extending his on-base streak to 20 games.

Padres manager Craig Stammen left in the middle of the game to attend a funeral. Bench coach Randy Knorr finished managing the game and will be the acting manager for Wednesday’s game.

Cubs RHP Jameson Taillon (1-1, 4.55 ERA) faces RHP Matt Waldron (0-1, 12.46) in the finale of the three-game series Wednesday.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

San Diego Padres' Bryce Johnson, below, safely steals second base as Chicago Cubs second baseman Nicky Lopez misses the catch during the fifth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Walker Buehler works against a Chicago Cubs batter during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Chicago Cubs' Michael Busch rounds third base on his way to scoring from first base off a two-RBI double by Dansby Swanson during the second inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Edward Cabrera works against a San Diego Padres batter during the second inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong celebrates after hitting a three-run home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)