Leon Draisaitl’s second goal of the night — his 51st of the season — in a three-point game was the overtime winner to give the host Edmonton Oilers a 3-2 comeback victory over the Calgary Flames on Saturday.
Viktor Arvidsson also scored for the Oilers, who snapped a two-game skid.
Goaltender Calvin Pickard made 26 saves for Edmonton (42-26-5, 89 points), who are even with the Los Angeles Kings in points for second place in the Pacific Division but have played one more game.
Draisaitl, the first NHL player to score 50 goals this season, returned after missing four games due to injury, but Edmonton was without fellow superstar Connor McDavid for a fourth consecutive outing. No. 1 goaltender Stuart Skinner and defenseman Mattias Ekholm are also out.
Yegor Sharangovich and Brayden Pachal each scored goals, with Pachal also collecting one assist for the Flames (34-26-12, 80 points).
Calgary is seven points outside a playoff position but has three games in hand on the St. Louis Blues, who hold the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot.
Goalie Dustin Wolf stopped 26 shots.
Seconds after the Flames came within inches of netting a winner, Draisaitl was the trailer on a rush, gained the puck in the high slot and rang a shot off the far post at 2:25 of the extra period.
Typical of a Battle of Alberta clash, it was a huge boost for the victors and a painful blow for the losers.
With their playoff hopes in dire need of a boost, the Flames looked for a quick start and received it when Sharangovich opened the scoring at 4:32 by joining a rush and finishing a rebound chance.
Arvidsson tied the clash at 16:20 of the second period off a bit of a broken play. A cross-ice pass ricocheted off a defender right to Arvidsson in the left circle and he converted a short-side one-timer.
Pachal broke the deadlock at 7:55 of the final frame. Pachal joined a rush, took a feed as he reached the slot and buried a shot for his first goal in 28 games and third this season.
Nazem Kadri’s pair of assists for the Flames not only gave him 701 career points but also gave him 10 points (seven goals, three assists) in a six-game point streak.
However, Draisaitl again evened the count by notching his 50th goal of the season with 3:12 remaining in regulation. Draisaitl, the first player to 50 goals in the league this season, was fed a pass to his off-wing and from the right face-off dot sent a shot just inside the far post.
–Field Level Media
