Blackhawks hold off Oilers with OT win, spoil Keith's return to Chicago

CHICAGO --Alex DeBrincat scored a power-play goal 2:23 into overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 4-3 win against the Edmonton Oilers, spoiling defenseman Duncan Keith's return to United Center on Thursday.

Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves for Chicago (20-27-8), which was 2-3-1 in a six-game homestand. Jonathan Toews had one shot in 16:21 of ice time in his first game since Jan. 26 because of concussion protocol.
"It was nice to see him, just on the bench," Blackhawks coach Derek King said. "His leadership helps so much. It calms things down. They get a little panicky going sometimes after shifts and he settles things down."

Leon Draisaitl scored his NHL-leading 38th goal of the season, Connor McDavid had two assists, and Evander Kane scored twice for Edmonton (30-21-4), which finished its five-game road trip 2-2-1.
Mikko Koskinen made 28 saves and is 7-0-2 in his past nine starts.
"'Koski's' been unbelievable for us," Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said. "He's playing hard. Things happen in the game, but he played his [behind] off again tonight and held us in it at points in the game when they could have went up one or two. He made some huge saves and had a great night again."

Dominik Kubalik gave Chicago a 3-2 lead at 2:49 of the third period when he intercepted a clearing pass from Koskinen along the left boards and scored from a sharp angle.
Evander Kane then tied it 3-3 with 50 seconds remaining in the third period when his shot from the goal line deflected off the stick of Chicago defenseman Seth Jones with Koskinen pulled for the extra skater. It was his first multigoal game with the Oilers since signing as a free agent Jan. 27.
"It's always nice when you're down by [a] goal late in the game to find a way to send it to overtime," Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said. "I think it speaks to our players' character to push in that fashion. In the end, we found a way to get a point out of a tough game here tonight."
Sam Lafferty gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead at 2:34 of the first period.
Draisaitl tied the game 1-1 on the power play at 14:35 with a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle.
Patrick Kane made it 2-1 at 16:55 with a one-timer from the right circle.
Evander Kane tied it 2-2 at 19:26 after getting behind Blackhawks defenseman Caleb Jones and tapping in Draisaitl's pass from the right wing.
"The last couple of games, I thought I had good legs, but I haven't really gotten the opportunities, the clean looks," Evander Kane said. "Tonight, I finally got some pucks toward the net, which is a big part of my game and was able to get rewarded."

Keith, who was
honored with a tribute video
, played 16 seasons for the Blackhawks before being traded to the Oilers on July 12, 2021. He is first among Chicago defensemen in games played (1,192), and second in assists (520) and points (625) behind Doug Wilson (554; 779).
Keith took part in a ceremonial puck drop by former Chicago defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson, who was being honored as part of the Blackhawks Legacy Night series.
"Yeah, it was good to catch up with [Duncan] a little bit [Wednesday] night," Toews said. "Saw him here in warmups. He's a guy I like to keep in touch with here and there too, and FaceTime, and see how he's doing. … And [it was] a little bit strange to see a guy like him, who's just a pillar of this team and a Hall of Famer and just the career that he had, coming to the United Center and playing for a different team. That's definitely different."
NOTES:Keith twice won the Norris Trophy voted the best defenseman in the NHL (2010, 2014); won the Conn Smythe Trophy voted the most valuable player in the playoffs (2015); and won the Stanley Cup three times with Chicago (2010, 2013, 2015). He had one shot on goal and two blocked shots in 20:45 of ice time. He did not speak with media after the game. … Oilers defenseman Tyson Barrie sustained an upper-body injury and left in the first period. … Blackhawks forward Tyler Johnson had one shot in 11:10 of ice time after missing 46 games with a neck injury. … Chicago defenseman Riley Stillman had five shots and one blocked shot in 13:38 of ice time after missing 14 games with an upper-body injury. … Blackhawks defenseman Calvin de Haan had two shots, three hits and two blocked shots in 22:35 of ice time after missing two games with a right groin injury. … McDavid became the fourth player in Oilers history to have six consecutive 50-assist seasons (Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri and Paul Coffey).