Oilers keep pace in West with OT loss to Senators

EDMONTON-- The Edmonton Oilers remained six points out of the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators at Rogers Place on Saturday.

Edmonton (33-34-8) trails the Colorado Avalanche, who defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 on Saturday to move into the playoff position.
"This is the NHL, you have to show up every night," Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said. "Every team is capable of beating you. The reality of our situation is that we need as many points as possible no matter who we are playing, and we didn't get the two points tonight."
WATCH: [All Senators vs. Oilers highlights]
Brady Tkachuk scored two goals, including at 2:09 of overtime, when he shot the puck on a 2-on-1.
"It's pretty cool, 3-on-3, especially against this team when you have two of the best players in the NHL (Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl), you really have to be smart. You know they're going to really use their skill. Just be patient, and it was pretty exciting to be out there 3-on-3, you're going to get a lot of chances. I know our team had a lot of fun with it."

Craig Anderson made 26 saves to win for the first time since Dec. 17 for Ottawa (26-43-6), which is last in the Eastern Conference and has been eliminated from playoff contention.
"It's been a long time coming," said Anderson, who was 0-13-1 in his previous 15 games. "Personally, it's been a tough stretch, obviously, to be close without [being able] to get there. Tonight we were able to get there and finalize it and get the win, and it's just a great feeling to have."
McDavid, Alex Chiasson and Colby Cave scored, and Mikko Koskinen made 31 saves for Edmonton.
"It's like when we lost to New Jersey (6-3 on March 13), it was the same type of team when you look at the standings," Chiasson said. "We played a little bit better tonight, overall, compared to that game, but the first period, it just feels like we don't respect our opponent. Tonight we play a team at the bottom of the standings and has traded away four or five of its best players and they outwork us. In our position, that is not good enough."

Tkachuk scored on the power play at 4:37 of the first period to give the Senators a 1-0 lead. His centering pass from behind the net bounced off Oilers defenseman Adam Larsson and Koskinen. Chiasson made it 1-1 on a breakaway at 8:12, sent in on a pass from Nurse.
Bobby Ryan scored on the power play at 15:28 to put Ottawa ahead 2-1. He tipped in a centering pass from defenseman Thomas Chabot, who had missed four games with a broken toe.
"The penalty killing as a whole, we need to bear down and do our job as a team," Cave said. "You take those two goals away and it would have been different. We did a good job coming back and getting it to overtime."
McDavid tied it 2-2 at 2:54 of the second period, finishing a passing play with Draisaitl. His 38th goal gave him 108 points this season, matching his NHL career high set in 82 games last season, his fourth in the NHL.
Brian Gibbons made it 3-2 at 7:37 of the third period, tipping in a centering pass lofted over Larsson by Magnus Paajarvi on a 2-on-1. Cave tied it 3-3 at 8:33 on a shot from the left face-off circle.
"[The win] was really satisfying. You need success in order to keep the guys focused in on doing the right things," Senators coach Marc Crawford said. "I thought we played a really good game, it was one of the most complete games that we've played."

They said it

"It's big. He's been through so much this year, so many shots he's been facing, and has been making huge saves for us and he's not always getting the win. But, obviously, this feels good for everyone." -- Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot on goalie Craig Anderson
"When you're a team that skates as well as they do, they put a lot of pressure on you, same as New Jersey. Foot speed matters, and we've struggled for most of the year against foot speed." -- Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock

Need to know

Anderson is 11-7-1 with five shutouts against Edmonton. He is 15-25-4 this season. ... Oilers defenseman Andrej Sekera played his 700th NHL game.

What's next

Senators: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; RDS2, TSN5, MSG-B, NHL.TV)
Oilers: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET, SNW, KCOP-13, NHL.TV)