DENVER, CO - Defenceman Evan Bouchard came up clutch in overtime, scoring his seventh goal of the season on the power play to keep the Edmonton Oilers hopes of a Pacific Division title alive on Tuesday night with a 2-1 victory at Ball Arena over the Colorado Avalanche.
"I think that was a huge game for us," Bouchard said post-game. "Recently, we've been winning in different fashions. That was kind of a playoff game, and to come out on top was huge."
Bouchard's defensive partner Mattias Ekholm provided Edmonton's only other goal over the tightly-contested playoff primer, equalizing 36 seconds after Ben Meyers benefitted for the Avalanche to make it 1-0 off a bad break that came off the stick of centre Nick Bjugstad inside the first five minutes of the first period.
"This is the type of game that we're going to have to [play] more nights than not here coming next week, so great to see the guys respond," Ekholm said. "It may have taken us a period to get into the rhythm of the hard checking, but once we got there, I thought we played a really solid game."
Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner wasn't phased by the tough-luck opening goal and finished the night with 28 saves on 29 shots, improving to 13-1-1 in his last 15 starts.
"I think it's a good time for us to kind of get rolling here; a good time for us to definitely feel good about your game and feel confident," Skinner said. "I think everyone in here has kind of been feeling that way and it's important to feel that kind of feeling; it's kind of an unspoken feeling, but it's important to have that going into the first round."
The victory over the reigning Stanley Cup champions was Edmonton's eighth consecutive victory, keeping themselves in contention for first place in the Pacific Division behind the Vegas Golden Knights, who defeated the Seattle Kraken 4-1 on Tuesday night to remain two points ahead of the Oilers after 81 games played.
Edmonton concludes its regular season on home ice at Rogers Place on Tuesday night against the San Jose Sharks.
GAME RECAP: Oilers 2, Avalanche 1 (OT)
Evan Bouchard scored in overtime to secure the Oilers their eighth straight win and keep their hopes of a Pacific Division title alive with a 2-1 victory over Colorado on Tuesday
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