GAME RECAP: Oilers 6, Devils 3

EDMONTON, AB - The Edmonton Oilers completed a perfect five-game homestand at Rogers Place in fine fashion on Saturday afternoon, scoring four straight goals in the final frame after falling behind early in the period to secure a 6-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
The Devils struck twice early in the third, scoring two goals in 2:48 of play, before the Oilers found the back of the net four times in the final nine-and-a-half minutes to win their fifth straight game and all five games of a homestand at Rogers Place for the first time.
Evander Kane played a pivotal role with two goals, including the game-winning goal on the Oilers lone powerplay, while Connor McDavid contributed with his 35th goal of the season and two assists to reach 90 points on the campaign.
Leon Draisaitl notched a goal and assist alongside Tyson Barrie, who sniped his fifth of the season to tie the contest nine minutes into the third period.
Mikko Koskinen made 25 saves on 28 shots to win his sixth straight game on home ice and improve to 23-9-3 on the season.

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FIRST BLOOD

With a quick skate-to-stick move, Draisaitl picked up his 41st goal of the season just 1:11 into Saturday's matinee match.
Devils netminder Jon Gillies thought he had a Jesse Puljujarvi shot frozen on his right side, but the puck was loose for the Finn to pick up behind the New Jersey net before passing off to the German, who showed great footwork and finish to slide the opening marker past Gillies before the opposing netminder could react in time to stretch out the left pad.

PLAY OF THE GAME

With barely any room to work with, Barrie scored a beauty of a tying goal over the left shoulder of Gillies for his second goal in back-to-back games despite the New Jersey netminder playing tight to the left post. It was a sublime snipe that started an incredible push over the last 11 minutes by the Oilers to secure two important points form a losing position.
Barrie has multi-point games in back-to-back contests with a two-point night on Saturday afternoon that pushes his point streak to five games (2G, 6A).

LATE CALL ON KANE'S GOAL

It initially looked like nothing more than just a close chance when Kane wrapped the puck around the Devils net onto the pad of Gillies with just over two minutes left in the second period, but the horn in Rogers Place sounded approximately 20 seconds later, indicating the referees should take a look at the play.
It became evident quickly to the refs, the Oilers bench, and the rest of the crowd at Rogers Place on first glance that the puck fully crossed the line, meaning Kane had his 11th goal of the season and the Oilers had a 2-1 lead in the final minutes of the middle frame.

SAVE OF THE GAME

Mikko Koskinen was forced into shutting down a few 2-on-1's for the Devils in the opening 10 minutes plus change, with his biggest one coming when he went cross-crease to get a piece of his glove to Dawson Mercer's chance after Jack Hughes delivered the puck onto the New Jersey winger's stick 11 minutes into the first period.

TURNING POINT

The Oilers were awarded their first powerplay of the night at a crucial point of the hockey game with just under 10 minutes to play and the game all square at three apiece. They made it count.
Kane was positioned between the hashmarks to pick up a pass that hit a Devils defender and fell right onto the tape of the winger, who quickly put it on net and beat Gillies, who slid out of position expecting the pass to come through the slot.
Hyman doubled Edmonton's lead 49 seconds later before McDavid added the empty-netter to extend his home scoring streak to five games.

TOP PERFORMER

Kane gets the nod as Saturday's Player of the Game with two goals, including the game-winner, that pushed his season total to 11 goals and nine assists in 23 games since signing with the Oilers on Jan. 27.

PARTING WORDS

Kane on the homestand and Oilers developing the ability to push back in games after falling behind:
"I think it's just believing. We can score goals. We know that. I think it's just about playing a certain way, having the right attitude, and staying with that attitude no matter how bounces go in a game. You look at the third period, and we come out and they get a couple of bounces and take the lead. We stick with our game plan, we get pucks to the net, we turn up the heat a little bit and stay with it. We were able to respond.
"It's been a good homestand for the most part. You look at the teams we've played and you can say they're not very good, but those are tough games. I thought it was a good test for our group, and now we go on the road."

Draisaitl on the significance of the Oilers winning all five games of a five-game homestand:
"It was a big stretch for us, right? Important games, some good teams in here, so this was a really good stretch for us. But that being said, we're focused on next game. We've got two hard opponents here on a back-to-back, so we've got to make sure we're ready for that."
"I think we're just playing very connected hockey right now. I think everyone knows their role, everyone knows the system, and everyone knows the way that we want to play and the way we can be successful. We can truly beat any team. We're getting healthy, which helps a lot, but I think everyone's in their spots now and hopefully, everyone can stay healthy for the stretch run here."
Draisaitl on falling behind after giving up two goals early in the third before answering with four straight goals:
"You don't ever want to let that happen. That's not ideal, but they've got some shifty players that can make plays. I think maybe we fell asleep for a second there, but I thought our team did a good job grabbing it again and kind of pulling it back together."

Coach Woodcroft on Kane's play around the net and ability to find open spaces:
"He's feeling it right now. I think there's good chemistry with him and Connor. He has found a niche by going to hard areas to score goals. He's also someone who can score from distance, but he doesn't just resort to playing on the outside or the periphery. He goes to hard areas to score and it's a good example for our younger players."