Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the game-winning goal in overtime, leading the Edmonton Oilers to a 4-3 victory over the Utah Hockey Club on Friday night.
Nugent-Hopkins took the puck from Matias Maccelli and fired it past Karel Vejmelka for his third goal of the season at 1:18 of overtime.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl each had a goal and an assist, while Vasily Podkolzin also scored for Edmonton, who won their second straight game and improved to 6-2-1 in their last nine. Calvin Pickard made 28 saves for the Oilers in the win.
For Utah, Alexander Kerfoot, Logan Cooley, and Lawson Crouse scored, but they have now lost five of their last seven games (2-4-1). Vejmelka stopped 28 shots in the loss.
Crouse tied the game at 3:42 into the third period with his fourth goal of the season, snapping a 14-game goal drought. His shot beat Pickard, making it 3-3 and sending the game into overtime.
Utah had the advantage in shots, outshooting Edmonton 13-5 in the third and leading 2-0 after the first period. Kerfoot opened the scoring with a one-timer off a Kevin Stenlund pass at 6:17 for his fourth goal of the season. Cooley extended Utah’s lead to 2-0 at 17:15 with a rebound goal from Juuso Valimaki’s shot.
Edmonton responded in the second period with three goals to take the lead. Podkolzin got the Oilers on the board at 9:44, scoring his second goal of the season. Draisaitl tied it on a power play at 14:01 with a one-timer off a McDavid pass, marking his team-leading 17th goal. McDavid gave Edmonton its first lead at 18:22, also on the power play, scoring his 12th goal of the season.
McDavid has accumulated 20 points (9 goals, 11 assists) in his last nine games.
The Oilers recalled Drake Caggiula from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors on Thursday, and he played on the fourth line with Derek Ryan and Corey Perry.
This was the first of three games between the two teams. Utah will visit Edmonton on December 31, and the season series will conclude on March 18 in Edmonton.
