By Canadian Press

Draisaitl scores overtime winner, Oilers erase deficit to beat Capitals

Oct 24, 2019 | 11:23 PM

Edmonton’s top players took over when it mattered most for the Oilers on Thursday.

Leon Draisaitl had two goals, including the overtime winner, as the Oilers erased a two-goal deficit to defeat the Washington Capitals 4-3.

The Oilers got a three-on-one in extra time and Connor McDavid set up Draisaitl for a goal 1:18 into overtime, giving Edmonton a 5-0 record at home this season.

“We were down 3-1 and had made a couple of mistakes, but we felt like we were playing all right,” said Oilers head coach Dave Tippett. “We just said let’s stick with it in the third period and we got some momentum, we got rolling. We got that first one and we were back in the game.

“Our big guys kind of took over and we ended up with the win. After not scoring for a couple of games, the guys came back hard and we played well against a good team.”

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Draisaitl added an assist in regulation and McDavid had the tying goal late in the third period and had two helpers in total.

Darnell Nurse also scored for the Oilers (8-2-1), who snapped a two-game losing skid.

“Losing two in a row is no fun,” said McDavid. “We needed to find a way, and we did. It took the full 20 minutes, but we found a way. It was a group effort. Everyone found another gear.”

Oilers goalie Mikko Koskinen made 25 saves to become the first netminder in team history to get off to a 5-0 start.

Alex Ovechkin had a pair of goals and Jakub Vrana also scored for the Capitals (7-2-3), who saw a four-game winning streak come to and end.

Caps goalie Braden Holtby made 36 saves in the loss.

“He played great,” Ovechkin said of his goalie. “He was the best player out there for both teams I think and it sucks that we didn’t get the points for him.”

The Oilers ended a lengthy scoring drought which had seen them go two straight games without a goal — lasting 165:58 overall — when they found the back of the net with 6:40 left in the first period. A Nurse shot ticked off the stick of Washington defender Dmitry Orlov and past Holtby.

The Capitals tied the game six minutes into the second period as Vrana tucked a shot under the arm of Koskinen.

Washington took a 2-1 lead just 47 seconds later as Ovechkin tipped in a Jonas Siegenhaler shot. Ovechkin extended his points scoring streak to nine games on the goal, as did John Carlson, giving him the longest point streak by a defenceman in team history.

Ovechkin added his second of the game and ninth of the season with six minutes left in the second period, picking the top corner on the power play.

Edmonton cut into the deficit four-and-a-half minutes later on a goal by Draisaitl. McDavid picked up an assist to end a three-game run without a point.

The Oilers got the equalizer with 1:37 remaining in the third and Koskinen on the bench for the extra attacker, as McDavid took a feed from James Neal and trickled a shot that just got past Holtby and over the line to send the game into overtime.

The Capitals play the fourth game of a five-game road trip in Vancouver on Friday, while the Oilers remain home to face the Florida Panthers on Sunday.

Notes: Veteran Oilers forward Sam Gagner played in his first game this season after starting the current campaign in the American Hockey League… Washington’s Carlson played in his 700th regular season NHL game.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2019.

Shane Jones, The Canadian Press