Draisaitl gets 5 points, Oilers rally late for OT win against Senators

EDMONTON -- Leon Draisaitl had two goals and three assists for the Edmonton Oilers, who came back from two goals down in the third period for a 5-4 overtime win against the Ottawa Senators at Rogers Place on Tuesday.

It was Draisaitl's first five-point game since Dec. 13, 2022. He got the secondary assist on Evan Bouchard's game-winning goal at 1:50 of overtime, which came on a one-timer from the top of the left circle while Edmonton was on a power play.

“We did a good job in the third of putting them on their heels and keeping it fairly simple. We just needed two plays and it ended up working out for us,” Draisaitl said. “But we have to be careful not to be in those situations too many times. You can’t keep chasing games going into the third, it’s not a recipe for success.”

Bouchard’s overtime goal came after Zach Hyman tied the game 4-4 with 1:25 remaining in regulation. He tapped in a backdoor pass from Draisaitl at the left post with Connor Ingram on the bench for the extra attacker.

“We had desperation, you’ve got to win games," Hyman said. "We need to keep the puck out of our net, obviously, but when we are down we have the firepower to come back. We don’t want to be putting ourselves in that position like we have been of late too often, but sometimes you need a game like that where you can come back, and it’s a complete team effort to dominate a third period and win a game. I thought it was a good one for us and hopefully a springboard for better games.”

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored, and Connor McDavid had two assists for the Oilers (30-24-8), who had lost five of six. Ingram made 17 saves.

“We knew we had to have a push in the third period, the first two weren't good enough,” Bouchard said. “... We know we can come back against any team. It’s not what we want to do, we want to be playing with the lead, but it's good to know to stay confident, that we have the guys that can get us back in it.”

Drake Batherson scored two goals, and Tim Stutzle had two assists for the Senators (29-22-9), who extended their point streak to four games (2-0-2) and are 6-1-2 in their past nine. Linus Ullmark made 32 saves.

“I thought we played really well,” Batherson said. “Obviously, they got two goals on the power play, one at 6-on-5 to extend the game. But you’ve got to give ‘Ully’ credit, he made some big stops at times and gave us a chance to win, and unfortunately we didn’t come out on top.”​

Dylan Cozens put Ottawa ahead 1-0 at 3:34 of the first period. Nick Cousins couldn't handle Thomas Chabot's pass while entering the zone on a rush, but Cozens was able to settle it in the right circle and roof a shot over Ingram's glove.

“I think we did play a pretty good game,” Cozens said. “They scored two power-play goals and a 6-on-5 goal, so we limited their chances at 5-on-5, and obviously we’ve got to be better on special teams. But we’d like to keep pushing a little more there in the third.”

Draisaitl tied it 1-1 at 5:03. Ullmark thought he covered Mattias Ekholm's initial shot, but Matt Savoie poked the loose puck back down to Ekholm, who had skated below the goal line. The defenseman then sent a pass back through the five-hole of a scrambling Ullmark to Draisaitl, who shot into an open net from the right circle.

Batherson put the Senators back in front 2-1 while on a power play at 6:34. He took a cross-ice pass from Brady Tkachuk and scored top shelf to the far post with a wrist shot from the left circle.

Draisaitl tied it again 2-2 at 16:48 when his centering pass from behind the net hit off the stick of Batherson before deflecting in off the skate of Senators defenseman Nick Jensen.

The Senators took their third lead of the game at 4:30 of the second period. Stutzle picked up the puck following a turnover by the Oilers in the defensive zone and sent Batherson a cross-ice pass for a backdoor tap-in at the right post.

Michael Amadio pushed it 4-2 just 41 seconds later. Oilers defenseman Spencer Stastney kicked the puck out during a scramble in the crease only to have it go right to Jensen, who slid a pass over to Amadio for a one-timer from the slot.

“I’m not sure we gave it away, but we did let up in the third, for sure,” Amadio said. “We didn’t stick to our game plan and that’s what caused us to fall apart there.”

Nugent-Hopkins cut the deficit to 4-3 on a power play at 1:52 of the third period. Draisaitl's one-timer from below the right circle deflected in off him as he was attempting to jump out of the way.

“At this time you take any point you can get, and there are a lot of positives, for sure, but there are also still some things that we need to clean up," Draisaitl said.

“It’s certainly something that we can do (come back in the third), and we will do it again, I know that. That’s what we do. But long term, if you want to go deep, if you want to be all the way at the end, that’s not a recipe that you want every other night in a playoff series. We have to clean some things up."

NOTES: Stutzle extended his point streak to 10 games (six goals, eight assists). ... The Oilers have allowed at least four goals in nine of their past 11 games. ... Oilers defenseman Jake Walman was on the bench but did not play in the third period or overtime. ... McDavid recorded his eighth career season with at least 70 assists, tying Mario Lemieux for the second-most in NHL history. Wayne Gretzky is first with 16. ... Draisaitl extended his goal and point streak to three games (four goals, six assists). ... Bouchard extended his point streak to five games (three goals, eight assists). ... Oilers forward Curtis Lazar left the game early in the first period with an undisclosed injury. “He had a hit and unfortunately he’s going to be out for a while,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “He’s getting evaluated right now, he couldn’t return tonight, and it’s going to be at least a week if not more."