Zach Hyman won't blame netminder Connor Ingram after the Edmonton Oilers coughed up seven goals, including four in the third period, during their 7-4 Game 3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.
“Any time you let in seven, and it’s not a goalie problem, it’s just defending better," Hyman said postgame, courtesy of The Canadian Press. "We didn’t give ourselves a chance with the amount of goals we gave up."
Ingram faced 38 shots in the loss, the most the 29-year-old has conceded in a single game all year. However, he could do little to stop a Beckett Sennecke wrist shot on a Ducks 2-on-1 three minutes into the third that put them up 4-3. Seconds later, another Oilers giveaway set up a backhand finish on the break by Leo Carlsson to put the Ducks up multiple goals for the first time Friday.
Connor McDavid's first goal of the postseason later pulled Edmonton to within one on the power play. Jeffrey Viel then capitalized on Tim Washe's forecheck poke to roof a backhander over Ingram and restore Anaheim's two-goal lead. Jackson LaCombe put Edmonton away for good with a cross-ice empty-netter, giving Anaheim seven different scorers in Game 3 for a 2-1 series lead.
"You look at the goals against and just some stuff that shouldn't happen, especially this time of the year," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said, according to NHL.com's Dan Arritt. "There's lost coverage in front of the net a couple times or a little careless with the puck, stuff like that."
It was Anaheim's first home playoff win since 2017. The Ducks failed to make the postseason in each of the last seven seasons and were swept by the San Jose Sharks in the first round in their last appearance.
