Edmonton Oilers players try to explain what went wrong in disastrous Game 3 loss
The Edmonton Oilers couldn’t find a way to tread water in Game 3 against the Anaheim Ducks.
It was another high-flying game for the Ducks, as they lit up the Oilers with a 7-4 victory to take a 2-1 series lead heading into Game 4. Edmonton managed to score the first goal of the game, and held a 3-2 lead in the second period, but they couldn’t handle Anaheim’s speed.
The Ducks scored four goals in the final frame to wrestle the game away and take their first lead of the series. The Oilers just didn’t have any response, and quickly faded away into the night after Anaheim took control of the game.
When asked what went wrong after the loss, Oilers forward Zach Hyman pointed to the defensive game.
“We didn’t give ourselves a chance with the amount of goals we gave up,” Hyman said. “[We need to] just simplify it, play boring… We have to play simple. I think you can help their speed or deter their speed, depending on how you play, and we’re helping their speed right now.
“We can do better in a lot of areas on the defensive side of things.”
"We gotta do a better job of all the little things, holding guys up… I think we can be better in a lot of areas on the defensive side of things."
Zach Hyman speaks following tonight's #Oilers defeat to the Ducks in Game 3. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/hl4hNnlcWk
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 25, 2026
When it comes to defensive performance, it was not a great night for the Oilers’ top pair of Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm. Those two are expected to lead the way for this Edmonton squad, but they left Game 3 with a pair of minus-three performances.
Ekholm is supposed to be the defensive stalwart on that pair, and he talked to the media after the game as well.
“Not good enough for us tonight… not our best for sure and we’ll have to take responsibility for that,” Ekholm said. “Give them credit, they’re doing a great job. They’re forechecking us hard; they’re winning a lot of pucks. We just gotta win more battles.
“We haven’t brought close to our best yet… There’s a lot of hockey left to be played.”
"It's a 2-1 series, it's first to four. There's a lot of hockey left to be played. The momentum shifts, the swings, we've all been through it."
Mattias Ekholm talks about the #Oilers leaning on their playoff experience. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/ekv7HDZLad
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 25, 2026
Much has been said about Anaheim’s speed and how the Oilers want to slow the game down in their favour. It makes sense to some degree, but you can’t always keep the breaks on when you have players like Connor McDavid in your lineup.
Kasperi Kapanen, who scored his third goal of the series on Friday night, spoke about how Edmonton still wants to play a fast game.
“We wanna play fast, because we have fast guys as well,” Kapanen said. “I think it’s just more being responsible with the puck and just, defensively, it’s been something we’ve been battling with this whole season.”
"It's disappointing, but it's a race to four wins. We're not gonna panic, but we need to learn from our mistakes & be better next game."
Kasperi Kapanen on the #Oilers moving forward following tonight's defeat.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/O1gItSJ172
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 25, 2026
The Oilers are now at risk of going down 3-1 in this first-round series against Anaheim. Starting now, their backs are against the wall.
We’ll see if they can show off another exhilarating playoff escape act that starts in Game 4 on Sunday night.