Mattias Ekholm scored the overtime winner as the Edmonton Oilers overcame a shoddy start to emerge with a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
Just 1:04 into overtime, Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman made the initial save on Leon Draisaitl, but Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was there to grab the rebound and drop it back to Ekholm, who scored his fourth goal of the season.
Draisaitl had three assists in the game to give him 900 career NHL points.
Zach Hyman had a goal and an assist and Connor McDavid also scored for the Oilers (19-11-2), who have won nine of their last 11 contests.
Elias Lindholm and Mark Kastelic replied for the Bruins (17-13-4), who had a modest two-game winning streak halted.
Stuart Skinner made 24 stops in net for the Oilers while Swayman recorded 23 saves in a losing effort.
Takeaways
Bruins: Forward Oliver Wahlstrom made his debut for the Bruins on the third line in place of Cole Koepke after being claimed off of waivers earlier this week from the New York Islanders. Wahlstrom, who’s from the Boston area, had four points in 27 games with the Islanders this season.
Oilers: Hyman has eight goals in seven games since returning from injury. He used a full-face shield after suffering a broken nose when he took a slapshot to the face on Monday against Florida.
Key moment
The Oilers tied the game with 2:21 remaining in the third period as McDavid cut in hard on the Boston net and deked before sliding in a backhand for his 15th goal of the season. Draisaitl picked up his second assist, giving him multi-point games in seven straight games.
Key stat
Boston came into the game with wins in its last four visits to Edmonton, two of those coming in overtime and all four by a single goal. Edmonton hadn’t won a home game against the Bruins in over six years.
Sloppy starts
It was the fifth time this season that the Oilers’ opponent scored on its first shot of the game.
Up next
Bruins: Return home to face the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
Oilers: Remain in Edmonton to face the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.
