Oilers Pick Up Thrilling OT Win In Carolina

My anxiety reached a new level in that overtime period.

The Edmonton Oilers weathered a third period comeback from the Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon, defeating them 4-3 in overtime. Josh Archibald got two goals, including the game winner, and Leon Draisaitl picked up a goal and two assists en route to an exciting afternoon win. Kailer Yamamoto was the other goalscorer while Tyler Benson picked up his first NHL point with an assist on Archibald’s first.

It was a good one to say the least, but if you missed it I got you covered!

1st Period:

The Oilers entered Sunday’s afternoon contest with a blast from the past. The Carolina Hurricanes got on the board a mere 12 seconds in after Trevor Van Reimsdyk was able to finesse a point-shot through traffic and past Mike Smith. Cam Talbot anyone? 1-0 Canes.

The rest of the early pressure would belong to Carolina as they were all over the Oilers. This would change eventually after Andrei Svechnikov got a high-stick up on Kailer Yamamoto, giving Edmonton the game’s first power-play. Not much would happen for the majority of the man-advantage but, as the power-play concluded, Jujhar Khaira would sweep the puck in front of the net toward Leon Draisaitl who put away his 34th goal of the season. 1-1.

Carolina would get a wonderful chance later on in the period but Mike Smith would stand tall. At the end of 20 things were deadlocked at one goal apiece.

2nd Period:

Carolina would get the lead back in the second period after a set play sent Sebastian Aho off to the races. Aho would move in on breakaway where he would beat Smith to give the Hurricanes the 2-1 lead.

The Oilers would go to work on the ensuing shift as they pushed for the equalizer. Some good board battles would eventually escalate into a scuffle in front of the Carolina net involving Josh Archibald and Nino Neideretter. The two would throw a few punches until Carolina’s Erik Haula jumped Archibald in what could have been an incredible dangerous play. All three players would get minor penalties, which gave Edmonton a power play that would lead to a whole lotta nothing.

Edmonton would get another chance with the man-advantage later on in the period, however, as Haula hook Matt Benning with about 7 minutes on the clock. They would make good on this one as Kailer Yamamoto would hammer in a rebound in the slot to knot things at 2.

Archibald would follow up that shift with a goal of his own. Tyler Benson found Archibald streaming down the left side, who would roof a beautiful shot over top of Reimer. All of sudden it’s 3-2 Edmonton at the end of 40 minutes.

3rd Period:

The Oilers ran into some penalty trouble in the final frame. The Hurricanes were pushing hard for the equalizer and Edmonton wasn’t doing themselves any favours. Luckily they were able to weather the storm on two penalty kills. Shortly after getting back to even strength, Riley Sheahan had a wonderful chance at extending the lead on an open net but was thwarted by the posts.

Aho would eventually solve Mike Smith with 5 minutes left in regulation as he zipped a one-timer in the slot to tie things up. 3-3. Carolina would put an enormous amount of pressure on Edmonton for the rest of the game but wouldn’t be able to get it done. It was time for some overtime.

OT:

This was one all Carolina....MOST of the time.

Darnell Nurse made an excellent desperation play to break up a 2-on-1 while Mike Smith made an even better breakaway save against Aho to keep the Oilers in it. An exhausted Leon Draisaitl was able to catch up to the puck on a rush and feed Josh Archibald who had a clear break and, wouldn’t you know it, he put home his second of the game to give Edmonton the win!

Final score: 4-3 OTW EDM

Takeaways:

• Josh Archibald was thorn in the side of Carolina all game long and was a real difference maker. 2 goals including the game-winner makes him my Oilers MVP pick for this one.
• Leon Draisaitl did some chirping at the Carolina bench after his 1st period goal. This marks the second time in as many weeks that we’ve seen Draisaitl have some extra words with the opposition. Are we entering a new era of #DraiWithAttitude?
• Speaking of Leon Draisaitl, he was excellent once again. He had himself yet another 3 point game which brings his point totals up to a whopping 95. He is the leading candidate for the Hart Trophy and it really isn’t a question at this point.
• If the season started when Kailer Yamamoto was called up, he would have run away with the Calder trophy. He has been fantastic and added his ninth goal of the year in this one.
• Mike Smith came up HUGE in the overtime period after denying Sebastian Aho on the breakaway. Aho doesn’t usually miss and that could’ve given him a hat trick. Smith was a big part of why Edmonton got two points instead of one.
• Tyler Benson finally looks completely comfortable at the NHL level now! He had a few very nice plays in the offensive zone, none nicer than the his assist on Josh Archibald’s 2nd period marker. The Bakersfield squad is coming up big this season and you love to see it!
• The Edmonton Oilers improve to 32-21-6 for 70pts on the season which means they are all alone atop the Pacific Division! They’ll try to stay there as they welcome the Boston Bruins to Rogers Place on Wednesday!

LETS GO OILERS!