Podkolzin breaks tie late, Oilers score 3 in 3rd to rally past Canadiens

EDMONTON -- Vasily Podkolzin broke a tie with 1:09 remaining, and the Edmonton Oilers scored three straight goals in the third period to rally for a 6-5 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Rogers Place on Thursday.

Podkolzin, who also had an assist, took a centering pass from Darnell Nurse and put a backhand past Sam Montembeault’s glove from the edge of the crease.

The winning goal came after Edmonton scored twice on the power play in a span of 58 seconds to tie it.

Leon Draisaitl cut it to 5-4 at 11:19, taking a pass from behind the net from Connor McDavid and scoring from the top of the crease past Montembeault’s glove. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins then tied it 5-5 at 12:17 after he lifted a backhand past Montembeault’s glove in front.

“Down by two for the Oilers is nothing, I guess,” Podkolzin said. “And the guys have proved it a million times. It wasn’t a great feeling, we didn’t play well defensively and we’ve got to play much better as a top team, but finding a way to get two points was good.”

McDavid had three assists, and Jake Walman and Nurse each had two assists for the Oilers (4-3-1), who had lost three of four. Calvin Pickard made 22 saves.

“We found a way to get the lead in the second and we just stopped playing for a bit,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “It’s a high-powered team that if you give them looks and let them feel good, they’re going to capitalize.

“It just wasn’t good enough. We took advantage of some power plays at the end that we scored on, and then a really big one there by ‘Podz.’ It was a good battle. I thought we started to push at the end, but I would say for most of the game it was not our standard.”

Alex Newhook and Cole Caufield each scored twice, and Lane Hutson and Oliver Kapanen each had two assists for the Canadiens (6-3-0), who had won six of seven, including a 2-1 overtime win at the Calgary Flames on Wednesday. Montembeault made 23 saves.

“It's easy to be frustrated by the result and by everything that happened,” Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. “The Oilers won on the board, but they haven't beat us. Honestly, the result is disappointing, but I'm happy with the way we played tonight. We played 60 minutes, but we just didn't win. Even when they were leading 3-1, they led, but they weren't beating us.”

Newhook gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead at 7:28 of the first period when he tapped in a rebound five-hole off a wrist shot from the point by Hutson.

David Tomasek tied it 1-1 at 16:12, taking a cross-ice pass from Podkolzin and snapping a shot from the top of the left circle that deflected in off the skate of Newhook for his first NHL goal.

Adam Henrique put Edmonton ahead 2-1 at 10:37 of the second period after tipping a high point shot by Walman through the legs of Montembeault.

Andrew Mangiapane extended it to 3-1 at 13:28. Nurse whiffed on a shot at the side of the net, only to follow the puck in behind and send a back pass through his legs, which Mangiapane fired past Montembeault’s blocker.

Montreal then scored three times in a span of 1:52 to retake the lead.

Josh Anderson cut it to 3-2 at 16:57. Jake Evans centered a puck out of the corner to Brendan Gallagher, who sent it across the crease to Anderson for the backdoor finish.

Caufield’s first goal of the game tied it 3-3 just 1:03 later. He took a cross-ice feed from Noah Dobson and deked in from the left dot before scoring inside the near post.

Caufield then scored again 49 seconds later to give Montreal a 4-3 lead, sending a wrist shot from the right dot under the right arm of Pickard.

Newhook made it 5-3 at 2:10 of the third period with his second goal of the game. He took a backhand pass from beneath the goal line by Kapanen and put the puck past Pickard’s stick.

“It’s tough, I think we deserved better, a couple of power plays late, one in front of the net,” Newhook said. “It’s a tough break when you’re up 5-3, you’d like to close out those games, but we got into penalty trouble.

“But it’s a good power play and to hold them to no goals when we had to kill however many it was, it’s a tough task. I think we can step up and do that job, but frustrating for sure.”

NOTES: McDavid (720 games) became the third-fastest player in NHL history to record 200 multiassist games. Only Wayne Gretzky (449 games) and Mario Lemieux (580) reached the mark in fewer games. … McDavid also became the second player in Oilers history to record 200 multiassist games. … Montreal hadn't scored three goals in a faster span than 1:52 since March 29, 2022, against the Florida Panthers (1:42).