In Edmonton, the Oilers’ Connor McDavid hit for the fame winner on Wednesday night with 26 seconds left in extra time for a 3-2 win over the St Louis Blues.
McDavid had gone 11 games without a goal.
“I was pretty tired, [Mattias Ekholm] was pretty tired,” McDavid said. “I kept giving it back to him and I felt bad for him, he was just trying to get off the ice.
“He kind of gave it to me there and I just tried to give it one last dash. There was not much going on that play, I just tried to get it to the net somehow and fortunately that went in.”
The Oilers moved to 35-20-2.
“The timing was excellent,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “He’s been doing everything but scoring, and he’s been on the score sheet two, three times almost every single night through that stretch.
“And wow, what a goal he provided in overtime.”
Stuart Skinner made 32 saves.
“I mean, I play with the best player in the world, so I’m very fortunate and very aware that I’m pretty lucky,” the Oilers Zach Hyman said. “Obviously, one of the big reasons I chose to come here was to have the opportunity to play with Connor.
“I just keep trying to get open, and you (media) guys are on him for not scoring, but it’s because he’s making those plays, and I’m the benefactor. He’s a generational player.”
Hyman hit for a double in regulation.
The Blues took a 1-0 lead at 2:19 of the opening stanza on a shot by Robert Thomas from the right side.
“Tough back-to-back for us, getting in late and playing a team that is so fast and dynamic,” Thomas said. “I think we did a really good job. I don’t think we can be upset with ourselves, we were in that game right to the end. We did a ton of good things and had our chances. I’m very happy with our effort.”
Pavel Buchnevich pushed the lead to 2-0 at 4:49.
“The start was really good,” Bannister said. “I thought we were direct, got to the goal line quick, worked off the cycle and created some chances.”
Hyman hit for his first of the night, off the power play, at 18:16, to send the game to the middle frame with the Blues up, 2-1.
The Blues dropped to 30-26-3.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed with the loss. We felt we deserved better in that game, playing back-to-back with our travel,” St. Louis coach Drew Bannister said. “I loved the effort of our guys. I thought we dug in here tonight. I was disappointed for the guys that we weren’t able to get the win, but a lot of positives we can take from that game moving forward.”
Hyman collected his double at 4:54 of the middle frame, scoring off a tip in.
“I’m so happy for him. He is a guy who brings it every single day with a positive attitude and a smile on his face,” McDavid said. “Even when things aren’t going well, he shows up and is the same every day.
“It is great to see him get rewarded. He has
Jordan Binnington made 32 saves in the loss.
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