The Edmonton Oilers tied a franchise record with a ninth-straight win Thursday night in Detroit, outlasting the Red Wings 3-2 in overtime.
“It’s very surprising, considering how many good teams there were, especially in the 80s and Stanley Cup winners,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said after the game.
“I’m shocked they didn’t have a run longer than nine games.”
Darnell Nurse scored the winner.
“I just try to get to the right spots,” Nurse said after the game. “We have some special players that make special plays, and I try to capitalize when I get my chance.
“Tonight was just one of those opportunities of getting to the right spot on the ice and try hitting my shot.”
After having just 15 shots on goal the entire game Tuesday in Chicago, the Oilers fired 16 shots on the Detroit net in the first period alone. Derek Ryan had a great chance on a tip from the high slot, but Detroit goaltender Alex Lyon shot out his left pad for the denial.
The Oilers continued to press in the second with Lyon continuing to excel. He stopped a couple of hard wrist shots off the stick of Connor McDavid and also snared a puck that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins batted out of the air.
The Red Wings went ahead 3:34 into the third when Andrew Copp’s long wrister eluded Oilers netminder Calvin Pickard. The Oilers challenged for goalie interference as Pickard had his glove jostled on the play, but the goal stood as the contact was outside the crease.
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“He kind of clipped my glove,” Pickard said. “The ref explained it to me that the guy was outside the blue.”
With the Oilers penalized as a result of the failed challenge, Wings forward Robby Fabbri appeared to make it 2-0, but his shot ticked Pickard’s blocker, then the crossbar, then the post.
The Oilers broke through with 10:48 left. McDavid grabbed the puck at the Red Wings’ blue line, stormed through the defence and stuffed a forehand past an outstretched line.
Zach Hyman gave the Oilers the lead with a blast from the slot with six minutes to go.
The Wings tied it with 3:57 left. A pass from the corner bounced into the crease and lay on the goal line before Olli Maatta tucked it in.
The Oilers thought they had a dramatic game-winner when Evander Kane chipped in a backhand with 11.1 seconds to go, but it was disallowed as Ryan had kept the puck alive off his glove.
In overtime, Nurse followed up a net drive by Hyman and fired a shot past Lyon’s right arm.
Lyon finished with 44 saves. Pickard made 15.
“It’s interesting to play a team like that because you can see where the bar is set,” Lyon said. “Obviously, we knew this was going to be a good test. It feels bad right now, but that’s a huge point.”
The Oilers (22-15-1) will visit the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. You can listen to the game live on 630 CHED, beginning with The Faceoff Show at 3:30 p.m. The actual game starts at 5 p.m.
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