Oilers defeat Avalanche in OT, keep pace in Pacific race

DENVER -- Evan Bouchard scored 1:50 into overtime, and the Edmonton Oilers kept pace in the Pacific Division with a 2-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on Tuesday.

Bouchard took a pass from Connor McDavid and scored from just inside the right face-off circle.
"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."
McDavid became the first player in NHL history with three 15-game point streaks in a single season. He has 10 goals and 18 assists in his current 15-game point streak.
"He's amazing for us, just the fact of how he is on the ice," Edmonton goalie Stuart 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."

Mattias Ekholm scored, and Skinner made 29 saves for the Oilers (49-23-9), who have won eight in a row to extend their point streak to 14 games (13-0-1).
Edmonton is second in the Pacific Division, two points behind the Vegas Golden Knights, who won 4-1 against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday. Each team has one game remaining; the Oilers host the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, when the Golden Knights visit the Kraken.
"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."
Ben Meyers scored, and Alexandar Georgiev made 38 saves for the Avalanche (49-24-7), who had won five straight.
Colorado moved into first place in the Central Division, one point ahead of the Dallas Stars with two games remaining, and clinched home-ice advantage for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"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."
Meyers was credited with a goal to make it 1-0 when Oilers forward Nick Bjugstad dove to sweep the puck away from him and it caromed off the skate of defenseman Philip Broberg at 4:52 of the first period.
"It was kind of a tough play," Skinner said. "It's just a kind of crazy broken play, went off a stick, another stick, went off a skate, and then right when it went off the skate, I moved my pad up just that second. It's a game of inches. It's about what you do after that, and 'Eks' scored right away. And I think that's a huge bounce- back just to be able to get that momentum shift."

Ekholm tied it 1-1 on a slap shot from above the left circle at 5:28.
"I've played a couple times here lately where it can easily go to two or three [goals] before you know it, and the game's over," Ekholm said. "So nice to get that one back right away and kind of gain momentum for us and maybe steal some momentum from them."
NOTES: McDavid had a 17-game point streak from Nov. 26-Dec. 30 and a 15-game run from Jan. 3-Feb. 11. … It was the fifth game in NHL history and first since 1985-86 to have five 100-point scorers (McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen). All five games have involved the Oilers. … Nugent-Hopkins played his 800th NHL game. … Edmonton went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill and is 19-for-19 in the past seven games. … Oilers forward Ryan McLeod had an assist and two shots in 11:45 after missing 12 games with an upper-body injury. … MacKinnon's assist was 756th point to pass Peter Forsberg for fifth in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history.