The Pacific Division may be the most entertaining competition of the NHL this latter stage of the season.
On Saturday night, the Edmonton Oilers claimed a piece of the division’s top spot with a 3-2 over time win over the Anaheim Ducks who hold the other piece of first place.
Leon Draisaitl scored the game-winner for the Oilers early in the extra session.
“I just saw Connor (McDavid) taking off. It is pretty hard to keep up, let me tell you,” Draisaitl said of his overtime goal. “I just got on my horse and tried to catch up and get open for a shot.”
Cam Talbot made 16 saves to get the win with both clubs now sitting atop the division with 97 points.
Connor McDavid and Milan Lucic scored regulation goals for the Oilers.
“Ever since the calendar turned over to March, it has just seemed like everything is rolling in the right direction for us,” Lucic said. “From the goaltending to the defensive play and guys stepping up offensively … the crowd too. The energy has been ramping up as we get closer to playoffs, and that is important to us. We feed off of that energy that the fans provide us.”
Anaheim’s goals came from Ryan Getzlaf and Patrick Eaves
“We didn’t play 60 minutes of hockey tonight,” Getzlaf said. “That first period we sat back a lot, but we played a good hockey team. They’re fighting for their lives too, and we’ve got to be able to finish games like that.”
Anaheim dropped to 42-23-13 with the loss.
WATCH: All Ducks vs. Oilers highlights
John Gibson was strong in his return to the Ducks net after a long injury recovery; he made 34 saves in the loss.
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