Draisaitl scores in OT, Oilers rally past Sharks

EDMONTON -- Leon Draisaitl scored 18 seconds into overtime for the Edmonton Oilers, who rallied for a 3-2 win against the San Jose Sharks at Rogers Place on Saturday.

Connor McDavid skated into the slot and dished it to his right to Draisaitl, who scored with a snap shot that squeezed through the pads of Yaroslav Askarov for his League-leading 24th goal of the season.

“It just creates a little bit of belief and a little bit of character in those moments when they come later on in the season,” Draisaitl said following the Oilers’ second overtime win in a row, having rallied from two goals down for a 3-2 win against the Boston Bruins on Thursday. “You have to find a way to win any kind of hockey game in this league, and the last two nights we certainly won two the same way.

“You don’t want to do that every night, but sometimes you need those.”

Draisaitl’s goal came after Mattias Ekholm tied it 2-2 with 18 seconds left in the third period, beating Askarov with a one-timer from the left face-off circle at 6-on-5 with goalie Calvin Pickard on the bench for an extra attacker.

“He had a heck of a game,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said of Askarov, who made an NHL career-high 39 saves his first start since Nov. 25 after being recalled from the American Hockey League on Wednesday. “We knew what he was about and he did play very well tonight, he made a lot of key saves and there were also many opportunities where we’d miss the net.

“Some empty nets where maybe it just got blocked, we hit goal posts, just missed the net. So, we did make him look better, but a lot of credit to him. He played well.”

McDavid had three assists to push his point streak to eight games (three goals, 14 assists), and Zach Hyman scored his sixth goal in the past five games for the Oilers (20-11-2), who have won seven of eight. Pickard made 20 saves.

“I think with the experience from last year, being resilient and going through all the pressure of hardships that they went through last year, and tonight was just: Stick with it,” Knoblauch said. “It’s easy for them to take shortcuts because they were doing so many good things and it’s still not going in the net.

“So, sometimes you extend your shift, sometimes you try low-percentage plays. But tonight was one of our games with higher opportunities with the amount of chances that we had, and finally it paid off and was able to go into the net for us. But a lot of credit to them.”

Luke Kunin and Jan Rutta scored for the Sharks (11-19-6), who have lost four straight (0-3-1).

“This was crazy,” Askarov said of facing McDavid and the Oilers. “This was my first game against him. He is quick. It was fun to play against him and Draisaitl.

“When a goalie has a lot of shots, it's easier to play. Probably for Pickard, it was harder.”

Kunin put the Sharks ahead 1-0 at 3:23 of the first period. Alexander Wennberg chased the puck into the right corner and found Kunin in the slot for a one-timer that beat Pickard stick side.

“It wasn’t the start I wanted but I kept it at two,” Pickard said. “That was my job to make up, making saves and hopefully we pop one at the end.”

Hyman tied it 1-1 at 7:07 with a snap shot from the left circle off a pass from McDavid, who looped around the left side of the net and sent a cross-slot pass to Hyman.

“I thought we did a lot of good things. We had the puck all night,” Oilers forward Corey Perry said. “You have to give a ton of credit to that guy over there (Askarov). He stood tall.

“We stuck with it, we found a way and our big boys came through.”

Rutta responded to put the Sharks ahead 2-1 at 8:21 of the first with his first of the season, beating Pickard with a snap shot from the high slot with Askarov on the bench for an extra attacker during a delayed penalty.

Sharks defenseman Cody Ceci played his first game against the Oilers after helping them reach Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last season.

“It's different being on the other side of it,” he said. “They get rolling around and it's tough to stop, especially when you're late in your shift. That's when they do their damage.”

NOTES: Hyman has scored a League-leading nine goals in December. He has goals in five straight games after missing five with an undisclosed injury. … Draisaitl pushed his point streak to eight games (seven goals, 12 assists), but saw his multipoint streak end at seven. … Draisaitl’s 17 overtime goals for the Oilers are most in team history. His four OT goals this season lead the NHL, and his six OT goals in 2024 are the most in a calendar year in NHL history.