In Denver, Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard scored 1:50 into extra time on Tuesday to give the Oilers a 2-1 win over the Avalanche on Tuesday night.
The win helped the Oilers keep pace with the Vegas Golden Knights for the top spot in the Pacific Division.
The Knights downed the Seattle Kraken, 4-1, on Tuesday to remain atop the division.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl assisted on the game-winner.
“Connor actually called out [and] said, ‘Throw a little fake in there and see what opens up,’ and luckily for me the lane opened up and it went in,” Bouchard said. “I think that was a huge game for us. Recently we’ve been winning in different fashions. That was kind of a playoff game, and to come out on top was huge.”
Edmonton’s Mattias Ekholm scored in the fist period to tie the game, 1*1.
“That was a heck of a game. Fans got their money’s worth,” Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said. “I thought it was well played. It wasn’t run-and-gun and taking needless chances. It was a workmanlike win. Nobody got impatient with the way the game was being checked. In the end, we found the key play at the right moment, but I think the more games we play like that heading into the playoffs, the better it is for us because we call these dress rehearsals.
“We’ve got one left, and we’re pushing to finish as high as we possibly can. We came into this building against the Stanley Cup champs. This is how we expected to play, and we went out and we executed.”
Stuart Skinner made 29 saves in the Oilers win.
“He’s (McDavid) amazing for us, just the fact of how he is on the ice,” Skinner said. “A big thing for me is just how he is off the ice and how hard-working [he is] and how he is as a leader, just how he is as a friend in general, and that’s a big reason why we love him around here.”
Ben Meyers was the lone striker for the Avs, his first period goal staked them to a 1-0 lead.
“I thought it was good hockey. It’s a close hockey game. You expect it to be,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “We played our game to the bitter end and did a nice job. We killed some big penalties. We had some opportunities on the power play.”
Alexandar Georgiev made 38 saves in the loss.
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