Cutter Gauthier scored two goals and added an assist as the Anaheim Ducks evened their Western Conference first-round playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers with a 6-4 victory in Game 2 on Wednesday.

Game 3 is set for Friday in Anaheim.

Ryan Poehling also scored twice for the Ducks, who earned their first playoff win since defeating the Nashville Predators in Game 4 of the 2017 Western Conference Final.

“I thought we just played our game right from the start,” Poehling said. “We played fast, we kind of set the aggression. I think that’s going to be important moving forward. We want to make them play defense. They don’t like doing that, and we did a great job of that tonight.”

Anaheim’s Alex Killorn contributed a goal and two assists, Jacob Trouba added a goal, Jackson LaCombe had three assists, and Lukas Dostal made 33 saves.

For Edmonton, Leon Draisaitl recorded a goal and an assist, while Connor Ingram stopped 22 shots. Connor Murphy, Zach Hyman, and Josh Samanski also scored for the Oilers, who rallied late in Game 1 to win 4-3 on Monday.

The Ducks converted two power-play goals and one short-handed goal, while Edmonton failed to score on four power-play opportunities.

“We lost the special teams battle,” Hyman said. “Special teams are huge in the playoffs, and we need to be better.”

Samanski tied the game 4-4 at 13:51 of the third period after Matt Savoie won the puck back on a backcheck in the Anaheim zone, setting up a one-timer from the left circle off a pass from Jack Roslovic.

Gauthier restored Anaheim’s lead at 5-4 with 4:52 remaining, burying a loose puck from the bottom of the left circle after Ingram made the initial save.

Poehling sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 1:10 left.

Draisaitl opened the scoring at 8:58 of the first period when his centering attempt to Vasily Podkolzin deflected off Anaheim defenseman Drew Helleson and into the net.

Anaheim answered on the power play at 12:48, marking its sixth straight game with a man-advantage goal. Gauthier scored with a wrist shot from above the left faceoff circle through a screen from Beckett Sennecke.

Trouba gave the Ducks a 2-1 lead early in the second period, followed by Killorn’s power-play goal at 5:35 to extend it to 3-1.

Murphy cut the deficit to 3-2 at 11:46 with a shot from the high slot that beat Dostal through traffic.

Poehling then scored short-handed at 15:50 after Connor McDavid turned the puck over in his own zone during an Edmonton power play, restoring a two-goal lead for Anaheim.

Hyman responded at 17:48 with a deflection goal to bring Edmonton within one before the second intermission.

“I think people forget we just got Leo and (Hyman) back from injuries,” McDavid said. “We haven’t run our normal sets in some time. We will be better as the series goes on.”

— Field Level Media / Reuters