In Edmonton, the visiting Montreal Canadiens held off a late surge from the Oilers on Wednesday, in a 4-3 win.
Josh Anderson struck for two goals for the Canadiens.
“I think we have to look back on this game and continue to build on that performance,” Anderson said. “I thought we played a solid game, I thought everybody was engaged, and all four lines were rolling. Jake back there was a wall for us and gave us a really good shot at winning tonight.”
Jake Allen made 22 saves to get the win.
The Oilers trailed 4-1 late in the third period when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jesse Puljujarvi scored 61 seconds apart to make the final two minutes of the game far more exciting than the Habs had intended.
“They didn’t give up a whole lot all night, through the neutral zone or the [offensive] zone,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “As the game went on, I thought we started breaking them down better. That was a tight-checking game on both sides, and they capitalized on a couple of opportunities they had, and we did at the end too, but we were just a little short at the end. It’s a hard-fought game, that’s the way all the games are going to be down the stretch, and obviously in the [Stanley Cup] Playoffs, the same mindset.”
Artturi Lehkonen staked the Habs to a 1-0 lead in the opening frame.
Connor McDavid tied it at 1-1 in the second period.
“McDavid can get behind the D pretty quick,” Montreal head coach Dominique Ducharme said. “We were changing, and it was not a bad change because we had the puck in the [offensive] zone. The way we reacted and [Anderson’s] goal right after, I think it was just the mindset of our team tonight. It felt right for the guys, and obviously it brought some positives.”
Anderson replied to the McDavid goal 11 seconds later for a 2-1 lead.
“I think, when [Anderson’s] feet are moving all the time, about how good he is,” Allen said. “You see his legs going. He might not be as fast as McDavid, but he’s right up there in that upper-echelon category of skaters in the League once he gets his big frame moving. Good luck stopping that guy coming down the wing, he’s 230 pounds of muscle. He’s a game-changer when he gets his feet going and playing hard and heavy like that. If he keeps playing like that, he’s going to be tough to stop.”
Tyler Toffoli struck off the power play near the midway point of the third period and Anderson pushed the lead to 4-1 with his second of the game.
Mike Smith made 27 saves in the loss.
“I thought we probably weren’t as good for bigger parts of the game tonight as we were the other night,” Oilers head coach Dave Tippett said. “But they’re hard-fought games. You have to fight for every bit of ice. There were parts of this game I thought we were behind, we weren’t making plays and winning enough battles that would allow us to play in the offensive zone more.”
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