Oilers recover for OT win against Blues, gain ground in Pacific Division

EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid scored 1:11 into overtime for the Edmonton Oilers, who recovered after blowing an early three-goal lead for a 6-5 win against the St. Louis Blues at Rogers Place on Friday.

McDavid won it off a centering pass from Leon Draisaitl on a 2-on-1 after Mike Smith made a save on Blues defenseman Nick Leddy.
"It was a good start, 4-1 at the end of the first, we'll take that any night," McDavid said. "Credit to [the Blues], I thought they did a good job of adjusting and making it hard on us, and they got themselves back in the game. Ultimately, we hung in there, and it sounds cliche, but that's really all that matters."
McDavid and Zach Hyman each scored two goals, Draisaitl had two assists, and Smith made 31 saves for the Oilers (39-25-5), who tied a franchise record with their ninth consecutive home win and moved one point behind the Los Angeles Kings for second place in the Pacific Division.
"I'm pleased we found a way to get the two points, that's first and foremost the goal heading into each and every night," Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said. "We found a way to get it done, but there was 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."

Pavel Buchnevich scored twice, and Robert Thomas and Ivan Barbashev each had a goal and an assist for the Blues (37-20-10), who remained three points behind the Minnesota Wild for second place in the Central Division.
"They started pretty well, super fast, and it looked like we couldn't handle their speed," Buchnevich said. "They capitalized on their scoring chances and after that, we bounced back and had a solid second and third period. I think it's a good point for us after that first period. They're a good team, but we're a good team and we believed in each other."
Jordan Binnington allowed four goals on 13 shots before being replaced by Ville Husso, who made 25 saves.
"We need saves," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "That's it."

Hyman made it 1-0 at 1:50 of the first period on the Oilers' first shot on goal.
Buchnevich tied it 1-1 at 4:29, picking up his own rebound, circling the net and scoring with the backhand on a wraparound.
Edmonton regained the lead 2-1 at 4:59 after Hyman stripped Thomas of the puck behind the net, came out in front and scored off the stick of Blues defenseman Marco Scandella.
"I think it's important to play with leads and we have to learn how to play properly with leads," Hyman said. "In the LA game (a 4-3 shootout win against the Kings on Wednesday), we were up 3-1 and it goes to OT and then a shootout. And then this game, we're up 4-1 and then 5-3, so two leads that got away from us. It's important to learn from those."
Evander Kane extended the lead to 3-1 at 10:07 with a backhand five-hole on Binnington while shorthanded, and McDavid made it 4-1 at 13:30 on a rebound.
"The start was not ideal, it was a combination of everything," Blues defenseman Colton Parayko said. "There's always a combination of things when things aren't going your way. They came out hard, but that was a good comeback by us, that's big for our group, being down 4-1 and coming back like that and knowing that if we're down, we can step up and get back in it."

Thomas cut the lead to 4-2 at 1:54 of the second period before Brayden Schenn made it 4-3 on a shot from the right face-off circle.
Darnell Nurse scored to make it 5-3 at 17:13 on a rebound of Kane's shot.
Buchnevich cut the lead again to 5-4 at 2:06 of the third period after he kicked a loose puck up to himself in the slot. Barbashev then tied it 5-5 at 8:36, tipping in a centering pass from Ryan O'Reilly.
"I felt like we were going to get opportunities, and we stayed with it and we got a big point," Berube said. "We talked about shooting the puck tonight and we did that and we were rewarded with five goals."

NOTES:McDavid extended his point streak to 12 games (10 goals, 13 assists) and had a career-high 11 shots on goal. … Draisaitl extended his point streak to 11 games (11 goals, nine assists). … Hyman extended his point streak to five games (three goals, three assists). … Thomas extended his point streak to four games (two goals, five assists). … Blues forward Jordan Kyrou missed his second consecutive game because of a non COVID-19 illness.