The 10 minutes and 13 seconds that saved the Oilers' season

The 10 minutes and 13 seconds that saved the Oilers' season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Edmonton Oilers' season could've ended on Tuesday night.

They didn't let that happen.

Over 10 minutes and 13 seconds from the opening faceoff onward, the Oilers showed that they wouldn't go down without a fight.

That's how long it took Edmonton to score three goals, force an Anaheim Ducks goalie change and remind the hockey world that this wasn't a team to be taken lightly.

Vasily Podkolzin opened the scoring just two minutes and 22 seconds into the contest. Evan Bouchard and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins assisted, and the Oilers were off and running.

After eight and a half minutes, Zach Hyman made it 2-0, needing just an assist from Nugent-Hopkins.

And 10:13 into the first, it was Leon Draisaitl on the board from Bouchard and Connor McDavid.

A 3-0 lead that would hold up even with the Ducks seeming to hit their stride from there. Connor Ingram was solid in net, and the Oilers were safe.

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When Anaheim pulled within 3-1 midway through the second period, it took less than Draisaitl to net on the power play for what turned out to be the 4-1 final score.

Clearly, the Oilers are still a talented bunch. Draisaitl's two goals prove that. McDavid's two assists after being an injury-related game-time decision prove that.

Bouchard dished out three assists, the offense-minded defenseman showing he can still help his teammates make plays.

Ingram was sharp, too, after being given a game off, saving 29-of-30 shots to hold off elimination.

The Oilers are still down 3-2 in the series, so there's still a lot of work to do.

But on this night, they stormed out of the gates and showed they weren't quite done with their hockey season yet.

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