Draisaitl scores late as Oilers beat Ducks 3-2 for 2nd straight win

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Leon Draisaitl scored the tiebreaking goal late in the third period and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 on Friday night for their second straight win.

Darnell Nurse had a goal and an assist, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored and Stuart Skinner stopped 27 shots as the Oilers won for the 10th time in 13 games.

Brett Leason and Jackson LaCombe scored for the Ducks, who snapped a three-game winning streak. Lukas Dostal had 23 saves.

Draisaitl scored the go-ahead goal with 1:35 remaining after Edmonton gave up a 2-0 lead midway through the second period.

Anaheim: LaCombe is having a terrific second season with the Ducks. He now has seven goals on the season and 15 points in 31 games. The 23-year-old defenseman is just two points shy of the 17 he had in 71 games as a rookie.

Oilers: Draisaitl extended his points streak to 13 games, tying the longest streak of the season achieved by four different players thus far. During his streak he has 11 goals and 25 points. Draisaitl passed Glenn Anderson for fifth in Oilers franchise history with career 907 points. However, teammate Connor McDavid had his own points streak end at 12.

With the score tied, Zach Hyman sent the puck in front to Draisaitl and he took the pass on his knee and kicked it down to his stick before picking the corner past Dostal for his league-leading 28th goal of the season.

Edmonton defensemen have been somewhat of a surprise in scoring, now accounting for 25 of the Oilers’ 122 goals this season — just one back of league-leading Columbus. Evan Bouchard leads the way with seven, followed by Mattias Ekholm (six), Brett Kulak (five), Nurse (four) and Troy Stecher (three).

Ducks host Tampa Bay on Sunday, and Oilers visit Seattle on Saturday.

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Anaheim Ducks' goalie Lukas Dostal (1) makes the save on Edmonton Oilers' Connor Brown (28) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025 in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Anaheim Ducks' Radko Gudas (7) checks Edmonton Oilers' Viktor Arvidsson (33) as Vasily Podkolzin (92) and Jackson LaCombe (2) battle in front of the net during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Edmonton, Alberta, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Anaheim Ducks celebrate a goal as Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97) skates past during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025 in Edmonton, Alberta. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Anaheim Ducks' Leo Carlsson (91) and Jackson LaCombe, second from right, celebrate after a goal against the Edmonton Oilers during third-period NHL hockey game action in Edmonton, Alberta, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97) crashes into Anaheim Ducks' goalie Lukas Dostal (1) during second-period NHL hockey game action in Edmonton, Alberta, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Viktor Arvidsson (33) and Darnell Nurse (25) celebrate after a goal against the Anaheim Ducks during second-period NHL hockey game action in Edmonton, Alberta, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Anaheim Ducks' Troy Terry (19) and Edmonton Oilers' Brett Kulak (27) battle for the puck during third-period NHL hockey game action in Edmonton, Alberta, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers celebrate after a goal against the Anaheim Ducks during third-period NHL hockey game action in Edmonton, Alberta, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl (29) celebrates after a goal against the Anaheim Ducks during third-period NHL hockey game action in Edmonton, Alberta, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl (29), Zach Hyman (18), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93), Evan Bouchard (2) and Connor McDavid (97) celebrate a goal as Anaheim Ducks' goalie Lukas Dostal (1) and Jackson LaCombe (2) look on during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Edmonton, Alberta, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Notre Dame women's basketball coach Niele Ivey tried to focus on preparing her third-ranked team for a road game at No. 17 North Carolina. It wasn't easy amid the worry about her son — NBA player Jaden Ivey — after he sustained a serious leg injury that required surgery this week.

That's why she was so thankful of the way her Fighting Irish handled Sunday's 76-66 win.

“They really ignited me as a person, and a mother," said Ivey, her voice fragile with held-back emotion in the postgame news conference. “So I'm really grateful for that because I knew this was going to be a tough one for me.”

Ivey, 47, is in her fifth year as Notre Dame's coach and leads a team picked as the preseason Atlantic Coast Conference favorite as well as a potential Final Four contender. Her son, 22-year-old Jaden, was the No. 5 overall NBA draft pick in 2022 and was having a breakout year (17.6 points) in his third year with the Detroit Pistons.

Ivey was hurt Wednesday night when Orlando’s Cole Anthony slipped as he and Ivey went for a loose ball, and Anthony crashed into Ivey's planted left leg. Ivey was in obvious pain as members of the training staff held up towels to block the crowd’s view of the injury while players from both teams formed a circle around him. He was eventually loaded onto a stretcher and wheeled out of the arena with a towel covering the injury.

The team said after the surgery that he would be re-evaluated in four weeks.

Niele Ivey's Irish, who hadn't played since her son's injury, took control in the second quarter at UNC behind the latest big performances from Hannah Hidalgo (24 points) and Olivia Miles (19) — two previous Associated Press All-Americans in the backcourt.

Afterward, Ivey patted Miles gently on the back as she talked about the past week, saying she told her players afterward that they gave her a lift.

“It's a really, rough week for me having my son go down a couple of days ago,” she said. “They really played for me, and I really really appreciate that because it was really tough. I'm really grateful for them because they really kept my spirits up.”

Miles said it's “routine” that the players try to play hard for Ivey, but that they were also aware of the family's emotion.

“We always want to play for Coach Ivey in every game,” Miles said. “But there was definitely some added fuel to the fire just given the circumstances.”

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Teammates look over Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey (23) after an incident during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Detroit. Ivey was carted off the court by stretcher. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)