EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers took advantage of a big opportunity.
Draisaitl scored 35 seconds into overtime and had a pair of assists as the Oilers beat the New York Rangers 3-2 on Monday night. The win, coupled with losses by Minnesota, Arizona and Colorado, moved Edmonton five points back of a wild-card playoff spot.
”Every point right now is huge for us,” Draisaitl said. ”We know the position we are in and we are trying to climb back into it. It was a huge win for us.”
Connor McDavid and Matt Benning also scored for the Oilers (31-31-7), who improved to 7-2-2 in their last 11 games.
”Five points back with a game in hand. That’s more than doable if we continue at this pace,” Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock said.
New York lost for the seventh time in its last eight games. Brendan Lemieux and Brett Howden scored for the Rangers (28-28-13), and Alexandar Georgiev made 30 saves.
”There are a lot of points that we’ve been missing out on,” Lemieux said.
Edmonton jumped in front when McDavid scored his 34th goal shortly after the Oilers went on a power play in the first period. Draisaitl picked up an assist to extend his point streak to 14 games, the longest active run in the NHL.
Benning added his third of the season at 8:02. The goal was originally waived off because of accidental contact with the goalie by Zack Kassian, but a review showed it was actually the stick of New York defenseman Fredrik Claesson that clipped Georgiev.
New York got on the board when Lemieux beat Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen with a deceptive wrist shot 11:29 into the second.
A bad bounce in front of the net set up Howden for his first goal in 36 games, tying it at 2 early in the third period.
”They scored the tying goal, but we stuck with it and created momentum shift after shift,” Kassian said. ”We ended up having the dynamic duo (Draisaitl and McDavid) connecting in overtime. That’s a huge two points for us.”
NOTES: It was the second and final scheduled meeting between the teams this season. Edmonton defeated New York 2-1 in October to record the club’s first victory of the season. … Oilers F Milan Lucic missed his second game in a row with an injury. … Rangers forward Ryan Strome played in Edmonton for the first time since he was traded for forward Ryan Spooner on Nov. 16. Strome came into the game with 12 points in his past 14 games. Spooner ended up being sent to Vancouver for Sam Gagner. … Oilers D Oscar Klefbom left after taking a shot to the groin.
UP NEXT
Rangers: Visit the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.
Oilers: Host the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.
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