Draisaitl scores in OT to lead Oilers past Ducks 3-2
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) - The Edmonton Oilers continue to look like a playoff-ready team.
Leon Draisaitl scored off a pass from Connor McDavid 1:26 into overtime to give Edmonton a 3-2 victory over Anaheim on Saturday night, lifting the Oilers into a tie with the Ducks atop the Pacific Division.
McDavid had a goal and two assists, and Milan Lucic also scored to help the Oilers to their fifth straight win and ninth in their last 10.. Cam Talbot finished with 16 saves.
"A great win. We battled back, battled with them all night, and found a way to win a hockey game," McDavid said. "It's taken us a long time to figure out how to play against this team."
Edmonton's 44 wins are the most the team has had in a season since the Oilers won the Stanley Cup in 1987-88. Edmonton and Anaheim each have 97 points, with four games remaining for each club and the Oilers currently holding the tiebreaker.
"It's a good spot for us to be in with four games left," Lucic said. "Ever since the calendar turned over to March, it has just seemed like everything is rolling in the right direction for us, from the goaltending to the defensive play and guys stepping up offensively. The crowd, too. The energy has been ramping up as we get closer to playoffs and that is important to us."
Ryan Getzlaf and Patrick Eaves scored for the Ducks, who have lost two in a row following a five-game winning streak. John Gibson stopped 34 shots.
"We didn't play 60 minutes of hockey tonight," Getzlaf said. "I thought that first period, we sat back a lot. But, we played a good hockey team. They're fighting for their lives, too. We've got to be able to finish games like that."
Anaheim had the best early chance six minutes in, but Talbot made a huge glove save on a point-blank shot by Corey Perry.
Edmonton finally got on the scoreboard with 49 seconds left in the opening period as Patrick Maroon's nice individual effort set up McDavid's 29th goal. It gave the second-year start his league-leading 92nd point and extended his points streak to 10 games.
The Ducks pulled even on the power play early in the second when Getzlaf beat a screened Talbot with a blast from the point for his 15th.
Anaheim defenseman Sami Vatanen left the game in the second with an upper-body injury and did not return.
Ducks forward Ryan Kesler had a wide-open net to shoot for four minutes into the third, but rang it off the crossbar.
Anaheim took a 2-1 lead nine minutes into the third on the power play, as the Oilers got caught running around and Antoine Vermette was left alone in front to dish it to Eaves at the side of the net for his 29th.
Edmonton tied it back up with a power-play goal of its own with 1:58 remaining when Lucic scored from in tight on the rebound of Draisaitl's shot, whose assist also gave him a 10-game point streak.
With his 40th win, Talbot tied Grant Fuhr for the most victories by an Oilers goalie in a season.
"Any time your name is anywhere near Grant Fuhr's name, that's pretty special," he said.
NOTES: Gibson, who had been sidelined with a lower-body injury, made his first start since March 10. ... It was Edmonton coach Todd McLellan's 700th game.
UP NEXT
Ducks: At Calgary on Sunday night.
Oilers: At Los Angeles to start a three-game trip.