EDMONTON — It was one that almost got away for the Edmonton Oilers.
Connor McDavid scored the overtime winner and added an assist as the Oilers emerged with a 4-3 victory over the Washington Capitals on Wednesday after allowing their opponents to tie the game with less than two seconds remaining.
McDavid elected to shoot on a two-on-one and notched his 30th of the season 3:27 into overtime.
“It's obviously always disappointing giving up a tying goal late in the game, especially that late in the game. We need to find a way to close that out, but it didn't hurt us, which was good,” McDavid said. “These are big points, and they all are from here on out. We need to start piling them up."
Recent AHL call-up Brad Malone had a goal and an assist and Kailer Yamamoto and Cody Ceci also scored for the Oilers (31-23-4) who snapped a three-game losing skid.
Malone’s assist on the second goal was his first NHL point since Feb. 28, 2016 and it was his first goal since Dec. 3, 2015.
“It feels pretty awesome, to be honest,” said the 32-year-old, who last played in the NHL for Carolina. “I was just really happy that we got the two points at the end of the game there. It is tough to have an individual game like that and feel good about yourself when you don’t get the two points.”
T.J. Oshie had two goals and an assist and Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and a helper for the Capitals (31-18-10) who saw a three-game wining streak halted.
“It was a heck of an effort by the guys,” said Caps head coach Peter Laviolette. “That’s four games in a row where I think we’ve played some pretty good hockey and had to fight back in some of the games and show a little bit of resiliency inside of that.”
With a regional population of nearly 370,000 people of Ukrainian descent, it was not surprising to see dozens of fans in Edmonton adorned in the traditional blue and yellow of their homeland, a boisterous reaction to the Viter Ukrainian Choir and Folk Ensemble’s version of the Canadian anthem, and a pre-game 50/50 total of more than $1.3 million to raise funds for those affected by the invasion of Ukraine.
Russian star Alex Ovechkin was also booed whenever he touched the puck.
There was no scoring in the first period, with the Oilers pumping 20 shots on Capitals goalie Ilya Samsonov and Washington directing nine shots on Edmonton starter Mikko Koskinen.
Washington broke the deadlock on a lucky break 2:17 into the second period as a puck bounced off of defender Evan Bouchard and Backstrom sent a spin-around backhand through Koskinen’s legs. It was the 39th time in the last 49 games that Edmonton has allowed the game’s first goal.
Edmonton pulled even on the power play with eight minutes left in the middle frame as Yamamoto directed in a McDavid pass from the side of the net.
After a Capitals goal was disallowed for being offside on a video review, the Oilers went up 2-1 with 1:46 remaining in the second period when Ceci crashed the net on a scramble and chipped the puck over Samsonov.
Washington knotted it back up six minutes into the third as Oshie beat Koskinen glove-side on the power play. Backstrom earned an assist for his 1,000th NHL point.
“Obviously, it means a lot. It’s a big milestone, so I’m very happy about it,” Backstrom said.
Edmonton regained the lead midway through the final frame as Zach Kassian sent a pass from behind the net to journeyman forward Malone who scored his first of the season.
Washington pulled its goalie and got a miracle goal with 1.8 seconds left as Oshie blasted a shot to the top corner to send the game to extra time.
The Capitals finish a three-game road trip in Vancouver on Friday, while the Oilers play the second game of a five game home-stand against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
Notes: It was the second and final meeting between the two teams, with Edmonton winning the first contest 5-3 in Washington in early February. … Kassian made his return after a lengthy absence due to a fractured jaw. Remaining out of the Edmonton lineup were Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (upper body), Kris Russell (undisclosed), Jesse Puljujarvi (lower body), Tyson Barrie (upper body) and Mike Smith (illness). … Missing for the Capitals were Joe Snively (upper body) and Carl Hagelin (eye).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 9, 2022.
Shane Jones, The Canadian Press
