Draisaitl's late goal lifts Oilers over Blackhawks 6-5

Embed from Getty Images

By MATT CARLSON | Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Leon Draisaitl scored the tiebreaking goal with 37.6 seconds left and had two assists to lead the Edmonton Oilers past the Chicago Blackhawks 6-5 on Thursday night for their third straight win.

Connor McDavid scored three goals and added an assist in his 12th career hat trick and second this season.

Draisaitl lifted a shot from the right side of the net with goalie Alex Stalock down to settle a wild, penalty-filled contest and snap Chicago’s four-game winning streak.

It was the perfect way for Draisaitl to celebrate his 27th birthday.

“Not the way you draw it up, but a big two points,” said Draisaitl, whose game-winner was his fourth goal this season after scoring 55 last year. “I'll just leave it at that.”

Patrick Kane scored on a rebound with 3:11 remaining to tie it at 5 after McDavid put Edmonton ahead 5-4 at 10:16 of the third period to complete his hat trick. McDavid beat defenseman Jake McCabe in the slot and danced in to score Edmonton’s third power-play goal of the night.

“It was a wild one, for sure,” McDavid said. “Lots of ups and downs. It was fun, a lot of emotions. Lots to build on and get better on.”

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and two assists, and Zach Hyman also scored for Edmonton. Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman each scored in their third straight game as Edmonton (5-3-0) won for the fourth time in five.

The speedy, flashy McDavid dominated in a freewheeling game, upping his totals to eight goals and seven assists in eight games this season. He also had three goals and an assist in Edmonton’s season-opening win over Vancouver.

“Some nights you have your stuff and this was one of those nights,” McDavid said. “I felt pretty good all night, made some things happen. A lot of guys stepped up.”

Max Domi had a goal and two assists for the Blackhawks. Andreas Athanasiou, Reese Johnson and Jonathan Toews also scored for Chicago (4-3-0). Kane added two assists as Chicago lost at home for the first time this season after three straight wins.

First-year Chicago coach Luke Richardson was impressed with his rebuilding team's ability to skate with and bounce back against the skilled Oilers. But at times, he thought his players gave Edmonton's stars too much time, space and “respect."

“We worked hard and we were in a spirited, physical game,” Richardson said. "Physically we hung with them, we skated with them.

“They had that killer instinct at the end and we've got to learn to have that, whether that be protecting the lead, or trying to get ourselves to overtime to get a point.”

Kane put the Blackhawks in position for at least a point, but Draisaitl foiled it.

“It seems like that's his spot,” Kane said. “When he gets himself open he gets a lot of shots over there and buries them a lot, too.”

Jack Campbell stopped 31 shots. Stalock made 32 saves in his third straight start with Petr Mrazek sidelined.

Hyman opened the scoring at 10:29 of the first, ripping a one-timer off Stalock’s right pad from the left circle.

Athanasiou tied it at 1 with 6:40 left in the period, completing a breakaway set up by Domi’s stretch pass. Athanasiou got his 200th career point when he tucked a backhand shot under Campbell.

Johnson put Chicago ahead 2-1 just 2:18 later. McDavid tied it 2-all 18 seconds into the second on a rising shot from the left circle that sailed into the upper right corner of the net.

Toews replied with a power-play tip-in of Domi’s feed 1:15 later to put Chicago back in front, 3-2.

McDavid tied it at 3 with a 4-on-3 power-play goal at 8:28. His shot from the left side struck Stalock’s mask, then flipped over the goalie into the net.

An apparent goal by Evander Kane with 4:07 left in the second was disallowed with no clear explanation from referees Chris Rooney and Jon McIsaac after Kane tussled in front of the net.

The Oilers were assessed a delay of game penalty for an unsuccessful goal challenge, then Kane drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty 22 seconds later.

Domi converted on the power play with 3:14 left in the period, firing in a one-timer from the top of the left circle to put Chicago ahead 4-3. Nugent-Hopkins’ power-play goal 24 seconds into the third tied it.

NOTES: The Blackhawks placed Tyler Johnson (right ankle) on injured reserve retroactive to Oct 25. He was hurt in a collision with Florida C Aleksander Barkov in Chicago’s 4-2 win on Tuesday. … Oilers C Dylan Holloway (upper-body injury) returned after missing four games.

UP NEXT

Oilers: At Calgary on Saturday.

Blackhawks: At Buffalo on Saturday.

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

The Chicago Journal needs your support.

At just $20/year, your subscription not only helps us grow, it helps maintain our commitment to independent publishing.

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE

If you're already a subscriber and you'd like to send a tip to continue to support the Chicago Journal, which we would greatly appreciate, you can do so at the following link:

Send a tip to the Chicago Journal