May 9 (UPI) — Connor McDavid raced by defenders and slid a pass to Leon Draisaitl, who hit a one-timer off an overtime rush to beat the Vegas Golden Knights and give the Edmonton Oilers a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
The All-Star forwards teamed up for the game-winner with 4:40 remaining in the bonus period of Game 2 on Thursday in Las Vegas.
“We found a way,” McDavid told reporters. “Not our group’s best, but we found a way.”
The Oilers, who started the playoffs down 0-2 in a first-round series with the Los Angeles Kings, are now on a six-game winning streak. Game 3 of their second-round best-of-seven game series will be held Saturday in Edmonton.
The Oilers led 3-1 in the second period, but allowed the Golden Knights to rally down the stretch. Vasily Podkolzin logged a goal and an assist. Fellow forward Evander Kane and defensemen Darnell Nurse and Jake Walman also scored. Oilers forward Viktor Arvidsson logged two assists.
Goalie Calvin Pickard totaled 28 saves in the win.
“Not too often after a game, where our goalie lets in four goals, you’re raving about how well he played,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said of Pickard. “[With] the amount of good, quality chances we gave up, Pick, he stole one for us. If you are going to have a long run in the playoffs, you need games once in a while from your goalie to play like that and steal one.
“We are very happy with his performance.”
Golden Knights forward Victor Olofsson lit the lamp for the first goal of Game 2 8:42 into the first period. Walman answered with a slap shot score 11:31 into the second. Podkolzin gave the Oilers their first lead less than five minutes later.
Nurse pushed the score to 2-1 with another Oilers goal about two minutes later. Veteran forward William Karlsson cut into the deficit with a goal for the Golden Knights with 1:50 remaining in the second period. The Oilers carried a 3-2 lead into the third.
Kane scored 1:52 into the final period of regulation, but Olofsson cut into the deficit with a power-play score about three minutes later. Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo beat Pickard with a wrist shot with 8:02 remaining in regulation. Neither team could find the net, despite launching a melee of shots over the remainder of regulation, resulting in overtime.
That trend continued for the majority of the bonus period.
Forward Corey Perry started the game’s final scoring sequence when he collected the puck along right right boards to spark a rush. He then found McDavid as he skated over the first blue line.
McDavid caught Jack Eichel flat-footed and used a lightening quick move to tap the puck around the Golden Knights forward. He then regained control of the puck and tapped it to his left, finding Draisaitl. The Oilers forward finished the play with a backhanded shot behind Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill.
Game 3 will start at 9 p.m. EDT Saturday at Rogers Place. The Winnipeg Jets own a 1-0 lead on the Dallas Stars in the other Western Conference semifinal series. Game 2 will be at 9:30 p.m. Friday in Winnipeg.
