The Edmonton Oilers tied a team record with their ninth straight home win thanks to a 6-5 overtime decision over the St. Louis Blues Friday night at Rogers Place.
“Credit to them,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said of the Blues after the game. “I thought they did a good job of kind of adjusting and making it hard on us; and they got themselves back in the game. But ultimately, we hung in there and got two points. And it sounds cliché, but that’s all that really matters at the end of the day.”
The Oilers had a 4-1 lead after an action-packed, turnover-filled first period. Zach Hyman started it off with a goal just 1:50 into the game. Pavel Buchnevich replied with a wrap around goal for the Blues.
Hyman grabbed the puck behind the net and spun in front for his second of the night just prior to the five-minute mark of the period. Evander Kane tallied shorthanded, then Connor McDavid tapped in a rebound to chase Blues goalie Jordan Binnington. He allowed four goals on 12 shots in 12:30.
The Blues came out strong in the second and got an early goal from Robert Thomas. Later, Brayden Schenn pulled St. Louis within one with a five-hole shot on Mike Smith. Darnell Nurse swooped in front and flipped in the rebound of an Evander Kane shot to make it 5-3 Edmonton after two.
Buchnevich struck for his second of the game early in the third. With 11:24 to go, Ivan Barbashev knifed in a pass from Ryan O’Reilly to make it 5-5.
In overtime, Smith made a big save on Nick Leddy. The Oilers took the puck the other way. Leon Draisaitl feathered a pass to McDavid, who tapped the winner past Ville Husso.
“I’m pleased that we found a way to get the two points,” Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft said. “First and foremost, that’s the goal heading into each and every night. We found a way to get it done, but there’s some sloppy play that I think has to get cleaned up. But anytime you score six goals on a team like that, I think that’s a positive sign. Some of the areas that we obviously have to focus on is keeping some of them out of our net.”
The Oilers, 39-25-5, will play in Anaheim on Sunday (630 CHED, Face-off Show at 4:30 p.m., game at 6 p.m.).
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