In Edmonton, the visiting Colorado Avalanche’s Artturi Lehkonen redirected a pass from Nathan MacKinnon in the right corner to score with less than a second left on the clock in extra tome to give the Avs a 3-2 win over the Oilers. 
“They’re a fast team. They limit your chances. But we had enough looks to potentially win the game, but that’s how these tight games go. It’s a split second where I lost my guy and the game is over,” the Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl said. “All in all, I thought it was a good game.”
Alexandar Georgiev made 32 saves in the win.
“I think the defense was pretty good from both teams,” Georgiev said. “They’ve got a lot of offense and so do we, and it was kind of smart hockey today. I just tried to make the next save and take the game as it comes to you.
“I wasn’t checking the time but just trying to survive every shot there. Great job by Artturi to keep it out of the shootout.”
The Avalanche moved to 43-20-5 off their sixth straight win.
The Avs took a 1-0 lead in the middle frame on a strike by Sean Walker midway through the period, scoring from the right circle on an odd man rush.
“I think it was just a team win. Fast transition on both sides of the puck led to some odd-man rushes and some good offense,” Walker said. “I think there was definitely some waves to the game there.”
The Oilers dropped to 40-21-4.
The Oilers then hit for a pair of goals to take a 2-1 lead.
“I think they had a push, we had a push, but eventually I felt like we were kind of taking over there in the third period,” Walker said. “So, I think that led into the overtime where we had some big looks, and obviously, [Lehkonen], a big goal.”
Warren Foegele knotted the game, 1-1, at 5:46 of the third period, scoring off a tip in.
Sam Carrick then hit at 11:48 for a 2-1 lead, scoring off a shot down close.
“It was awesome. A Saturday night ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ and all that. It’s pretty special, being a Canadian kid,” Carrick said. “Two really good, fast teams going at it. We’re heading down the stretch here where we’re getting close to that time of year, a fun time of year.
“There’s under 20 games here to really build chemistry, no matter who’s in the lineup and what the lines are. Figure out your linemates and how they play. You want to be able to roll four lines throughout the playoffs.”
Walker then
collected a double at 14:40 to tie the game, 2-2, forcing the extra session.
“The third was really interesting because they came back and took the lead and we were able to tie it, which was good,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “[To grab] points out of this building in the middle of a long road trip is encouraging for our team.”
Stuart Skinner made 40 saves in the loss.
“I think both teams brought it. It was a really good game. There were a lot of chances both ways. It definitely felt like a playoff game,” Skinner said. “We hope to see this team later on because that means that we’re making it to the third round.
“That is definitely something we are looking forward to. It is just another game to measure ourselves and the way that we play.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.