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DALLAS, TX – Evan Bouchard notched the game-winning goal on the power play 30 seconds into overtime, reaching a new career high of 14 goals with his second tally of the contest to give the Oilers the extra point in a 4-3 victory over the Dallas Stars on Saturday afternoon.

"We knew they were a good team," Bouchard said. "We had to play a really good game and we did that. That's what makes us so special. We can compete with any team and we know what we have in here."

Corey Perry scored for the second game running on a top line of Hart Trophy winners with Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, while also recording an assist to help Edmonton bounce back from defeat and avoid losing two straight games for the first time since Dec. 16-19, 2023.

"I thought we had some legs and some jump. We know they're a very good team," Perry said. "They play well off the rush like we looked at before the game. I thought we had some really good shifts, momentum shifts and hemming them in and all around. It was a great game."

Calvin Pickard got the start in the matinée and made 24 saves to record his sixth straight victory.

The Oilers will play their second straight afternoon contest on Monday night when they head to Mullett Arena to take on the Arizona Coyotes.

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      Bouchard's second-career OT winner gives the Oilers their 32nd win

      FIRST PERIOD

      The Oilers would've been ruing their missed opportunities – albeit few – after returning to the dressing room for the first intermission with a slim 7-6 shot advantage and tied 0-0 with the Stars through 20 minutes.

      Leon Draisaitl had the puck on his stick on an early three-on-one with linemates  McDavid and Perry, with the latter taking his first few shifts on the top line since being lifted into the spot at Friday's practice in St. Louis, but after the German made a good pass through the legs of a Dallas defenceman, the puck missed the stick of the captain and sailed into the corner.

      Edmonton's defencemen did a great job keeping the puck in at the blueline to extend an offensive-zone shift for the top line in the period's final 10 minutes, leading to McDavid receiving the pass at the top of the left circle with Perry playing his expected part by heading towards the front of the net.

      McDavid found Perry with space, giving the 38-year-old a clean look on Jake Oettinger, but the Dallas netminder squeezed the shot under his right arm to halt the terrific Oilers opportunity with 7:46 left in the first period.

      Undoubtedly the best opportunity for the Oilers in the opening 20 minutes came off the stick of McDavid, who looked to have a sure-fire goal when he rounded Oettinger and had an open net to shoot at, but the captain's glorious chance struck the outside post to provide Dallas with a major let-off before the intermission.

      Dallas' best offensive stretch of the period came after McDavid's miss, generating a few great chances and earning a power play with 37 seconds remaining that would carry over into the second period.

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          Kris addresses the media following Saturday's 4-3 OT victory

          SECOND PERIOD

          For what was a relatively low-action opening period at American Airlines Center, the Stars and Oilers certainly made up for it by scoring in bunches and combining for six goals in the middle frame. Each goal would seemingly be followed by a response from the other side, beginning with the period's first seven minutes when Edmonton & Dallas each found the back of the net twice.

          "I think you look at it and the two teams are pretty even," Perry said. "You get one, and they get one right back. They got one, we get one right back. So when they score, you have to take that momentum away right away and I thought we did that a couple of times."

          Dallas' carry-over time on the power play proved valuable when Mason Marchment opened the scoring on a rebound that came off the initial shot from Wyatt Johnston, who fell just short last season from being a Calder Trophy finalist alongside Stuart Skinner as one of the League's top rookies.

          Bouchard would make it 1-1 just 57 seconds later when he got the puck back from Mattias Ekholm and ripped a wrist shot top shelf on Oettinger to record his 13th goal of the season.

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              Bouchard goes top shelf for his 13th tally of the season

              Pickard was making his ninth start of the season for the Oilers and was 5-0-0 in his last five appearances in the crease, but the 31-year-old came just short of keeping it 1-1 when defenceman Thomas Harley was unlocked on a cross-ice pass in Edmonton's zone at 15:13 of the period.

              Pickard slid across the crease to get to the defender's initial shot, but the puck managed to just trickle over the line to give Dallas a 2-1 lead despite the netminder's best efforts.

              Perry answered back 2:08 later by scoring his second goal in as many games for the Oilers after putting the deflection on Connor McDavid's pass meant for the 38-year-old former Dallas Stars forward positioned perfectly in the danger area.

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                  Perry pots his second goal in as many games to tie the score

                  At 38 years and 277 days old, Perry is the third-oldest Oilers player to score a goal and the fifth to score for the franchise at 38 years old or older and the oldest player to play alongside McDavid. The line of Draisaitl, McDavid and Perry is also the second line in NHL history to consist of three players who'd already earned themselves a Hart Trophy as League MVP over their careers.

                  Edmonton finally ended the streak of scoring to tie the game when Derek Ryan gave them the 3-2 lead on a short-handed two-on-one with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who sauced it across to the veteran 37-year-old to sneak his fifth goal of the season under Oettinger's left arm.

                  Like every lead that was created in the middle frame, however, that one was also short-lived.

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                      Ryan scores shorthanded to make it 3-2 in the second

                      Perry was called for holding just before the final two-minute mark, and it produced Dallas' second power-play goal of the afternoon when the red-hot Matt Duchene put a loose puck to the right of Pickard's net inside the near post to make it 3-3 heading into the second intermission. 

                      The Oilers have now allowed two goals on the power play in each of their last four road games.

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                          Corey speaks after recording a goal & assist against the Stars

                          THIRD PERIOD & OVERTIME

                          After six goals in the second period, both Edmonton & Dallas played defensively over the final 20 minutes and it was their talisman defenceman who'd rip home the game-winning goal.

                          "He's confident back there and there's no panic in his game," Perry said of Bouchard. "When he gets the puck on the blueline, he's always making the right play and I think he knows when to shoot. I think we saw that in the overtime goal. He saw something in front and let it fly and that's what we need."

                          Edmonton went to an early power play in extra time after Draisaitl made a terrific dangle that drew a hooking penalty against Wyatt Johnston, sending the Oilers to a four-on-three to win the game.

                          "It's special," Bouchard said of Draisait's move. "Like I said, you give him the puck, you give Connor the puck, give most of our forwards the puck and they're going to make a great play and that's of course what he did."

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                              Evan talks with the media after scoring the overtime winner in Dallas

                              Bouchard threw the puck on net through a screen set by Nugent-Hopkins and put his effort over Oettinger's blocker just 30 seconds into overtime to notch his second goal of the game and 14th goal this season – a new career-high along with his 36 assists for 50 points in 51 games.

                              "He's been playing really well. Tonight was probably his best game I've seen him play for the last couple of weeks and he's very dangerous when he has the puck," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "Obviously we talk about his ability to fire the puck and the big bomb on those big heavy shots, but a lot of his goals are just little sifters; the little wristers from the point.

                              "And that last one, he makes a little move at the walk in the line, freezes the forward and then rips a nice little wrist shot inside the post. I believe it was Nugent-Hopkins who was right in front of the goalie and provided a really good screen, but he's able to get shots through like that."

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                                  Bouchard scores in sudden death to give the Oilers a 4-3 win

                                  For the Oilers, they take plenty of pride in their defensive game and were happy with how they played in their own zone during the first and third periods against a Dallas team that scored nine goals against the Nashville Predators on Thursday.

                                  The Oilers allowed all their goals against in the middle frame, but were able to earn the win after losing consecutive road games when allowing three or more goals.

                                  "Come playoff time, you really have to play solid defensively, and I think we're working on that," Bouchard said. "Keeping the puck out of our net last game obviously wasn't good enough, so we knew we had to do better. They put up nine goals last game, so that was really a focus of ours and it worked out."

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                                      Paige & Jack discuss the Oilers 4-3 overtime win over the Stars

                                      PARTING WORDS

                                      Check back following tonight's game for post-game reaction from the Oilers locker room.