GAME RECAP: Oilers 4, Islanders 3 (OT)
McDavid reaches 999 career points with a goal & three assists, while Draisaitl ties the NHL lead in goals with two tallies on Tuesday in Edmonton's 4-3 overtime victory over the Islanders at Rogers Place
EDMONTON, AB – 996, 997, 998, 999…
Nothing is out of the question for Connor McDavid.
The Oilers captain posted four points in a 4-3 overtime victory for the Oilers over the Islanders at Rogers Place, leaving himself only one point shy of becoming the fourth-fastest player in NHL history to reach 1,000 career points after he recorded a goal and three assists on Tuesday night.
The captain set up tallies for Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard in the first & third periods before he scored with 9:41 left in regulation, giving the Oilers a 3-1 lead that was erased in the final 10 minutes by two goals from Islanders captain Anders Lee that forced overtime.
During sudden death, McDavid connected with Draisaitl for the game-winning goal 1:52 into the extra frame, setting up the German’s second goal of the game that ties him for the League lead with 12 goals this season.
Evan Bouchard had a goal and two assists, while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Mattias Ekholm each picked up helpers in the victory that lifted Edmonton’s overall record to 8-7-1 this season.
Next up, the Oilers will meet the Nashville Predators for the third and final time this season on Thursday night at Rogers Place.
Draisaitl scores twice, including the OT winner over the Islanders on Tuesday
FIRST PERIOD
The opening 20 minutes ended scoreless with both the Oilers and Islanders having killed off opposing power plays in the period, but the Blue & Orange earned another man advantage in the dying seconds at the end of a wild finishing sequence where they did everything but score the go-ahead goal.
The Oilers picked off where they left off from Saturday’s victory over Vancouver by outshooting the Islanders 13-7 in the opening frame, showing some of the hands that you’d expect from a team feeling confident coming off a seven-goal performance against their Pacific Division rivals a few nights earlier.
Connor Brown – who scored two goals in Vancouver on Saturday – turned an Islanders’ skater inside out along the boards near the six-minute mark and found Adam Henrique with a cross-ice pass that the centre one-timed towards goal to force Ilya Sorokin into a lateral save. Then, it was Corey Perry’s turn to undress his opponent a few minutes later, putting the puck around Noah Dobson along the goal line before striking Sorokin up high with his follow-up shot.
Derek Ryan was tripped inside the period’s second half for an Oilers power play that the Islanders killed off before it became Edmonton’s time to come up with the stop on the penalty kill when their bench was guilty of having too many men on the ice with 2:41 left in the period.
After killing off their infraction, the Oilers had multiple chances to take the lead when they loaded up Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on a line with Corey Perry for the final shift of the period, leading to a crazy final few seconds where they couldn’t find the finishing touch on a few wide-open opportunities.
Edmonton failed to score on their late flurry in the first period, but Draisaitl was interfered with by Scott Mayfield just outside the crease on the play to give the Oilers another look with the man advantage on the other side of the intermission.
Connor speaks after his 4-point night in the win over the Islanders
SECOND PERIOD
Leon Draisaitl lifted the Oilers into a 1-0 lead with the man advantage only 36 seconds into the middle frame, scoring on a one-timer from his office in the right circle that was his 11th goal of the season to place him second overall in the NHL for goals.
It’s a sequence we’ve seen countless times – McDavid picked up a pass from Evan Bouchard near the blueline and pushed down towards their crease, backing their penalty killers up before placing a pin-point pass onto the tape of Draisaitl in the right circle for a hard one-timer inside the near post.
McDavid came into the tilt needing five points to become the fourth-fastest player to reach 1,000 career points and earned his first of two assists to go along with a goal on Tuesday night with the primary helper on Draisaitl’s power-play tally.
Draisaitl’s PP effort squeaks through Sorokin at the near post
The Oilers held onto their one-goal lead until the four-minute mark of the frame when Brock Nelson created a partial two-on-one for the Islanders that was buried top shelf by Kyle Palmieri on a quick snap shot from the left circle off the feed from Maxim Tsyplakov.
Edmonton killed off another power play in the middle frame to stay perfect at 2-for-2, but the game remained tied at 1-1 through 40 minutes.
Leon speaks after his 2-goal night
THIRD PERIOD
McDavid was on a mission to reach 1,000 career points after adding another goal and assist in the final frame to help build the Oilers a two-goal lead, but the Islanders were able to erase the deficit in the final 10 minutes to force overtime.
The Oilers captain redirected a shot-pass from Bouchard in the opening minute of the period that struck the far post, leading to Zach Hyman having a golden opportunity to bury the rebound on the other side of the crease that the winger couldn’t put away before the puck escaped to the corner.
After McDavid retrieved the puck, it was worked over to Bouchard in the left circle, resulting in the defenceman picking his spot under the glove of Ilya Sorokin for the 2-1 lead early in the third period.
Midway through the period, it was looking like the Oilers might come away with a regulation win after McDavid recorded his 998th career point with a terrific backhand finish over Sorokin’s left shoulder for the 3-1 with 9:48 remaining in regulation, but the Islanders had other ideas.
Anders Lee roofed one over Stuart Skinner two-and-a-half minutes later, cutting into Edmonton’s lead at 3-2 before the Islanders’ captain scored again with 3:40 remaining in front of Edmonton’s crease off a pass below the goal line from Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
Ultimately, it would fall to McDavid to pick up the 999th contribution of his career in extra time to help get Edmonton’s victory over the goal line.
Adam speaks after the Oilers 4-3 overtime win
OVERTIME
Off the Oilers bench in overtime came Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who attacked a tired trio of Islanders’ skaters with the help of Evan Bouchard to seal the extra point for the Blue & Orange on home ice.
With the Islanders owning some tired skaters in their defensive end, McDavid received a drop pass from Bouchard at the top of the zone and found Draisaitl in the left circle, who moved the puck to his forehand and sniped the game-winner on Sorokin 1:52 into overtime.
Draisaitl’s winner was his 12th goal of the campaign, tying him for the League lead with Montreal’s Cole Caufield and Florida’s Sam Reinhart, while McDavid’s assist puts him within one of reaching 1,000 career points.