Pass, pass, pass, turnover, Ducks score. Pass, pass, turn over, Ducks score. The Edmonton Oilers played their worst game of the year, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time. Anaheim now leads the series 2-1.

The Oilers finally found a way to score on the powerplay, but that was nowhere close to being enough to find a win on Saturday evening. Edmonton routinely passed behind their own players, bobbling pucks in high danger areas, and failing to pressure the Ducks in their shooting lanes.

The result? A convincing 7-4 victory for the Ducks.

Kasperi Kapanen, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Vasily Podkolzin, and Connor McDavid grouped up for Edmonton’s four goals. Unfortunately, seven different Ducks found the back of the Oilers’ net. Funnily enough, Connor Ingram actually had a better save percentage than Lukas Dostal, but the Ducks fired 39 shots on net to Edmonton’s 24; almost half of Anaheim’s shots came in the first period alone.

There were positives, however. McDavid finally got a point, the powerplay finally activated, Ingram was able to hold steady for 90% of the dumpster pond hockey being played in front of him. Despite it all, the Oilers have been close in this series while playing some of the worst hockey they are capable of.

In order to win Game 4, Edmonton needs to play faster. The Oilers spend too much time in their own zone trying to reset; it results in the Ducks getting free opportunities to force turnovers within 50 feet of Connor Ingram. Edmonton needs to pass less. The Oilers overlooked multiple Grade A shot opportunities, while the Ducks fired at the net whenever they could; it resulted in the Ducks getting a goal every 6 shots and completely dictating play. The Oilers need stop playing scared. The Oilers defensive core was terrified to play the man, lest they be burned for a goal. The result was they played the puck timidly, were stick handled and ran around, and got burned for a goal anyways.

The Edmonton Oilers now face a crucial Game 4 in Anaheim Monday night. Win the game and they come back to Edmonton with a fresh best-of-three series. Lose the game and they’ll have dug themselves into a potentially insurmountable hole.