GAME RECAP: Oilers 6, Rangers 5 (OT)

EDMONTON, AB - There may be no roof left at Rogers Place for Kevin Lowe's banner to hang from after that one.
On the night Lowe's number 4 was lifted to the rafters, Connor McDavid delivered a worldly goal with three minutes left in regulation to force overtime before Leon Draisaitl notched the game-winner and his 10th goal of the season in a thrilling 6-5 victory for the Oilers over the New York Rangers on Friday night.
Jesse Puljujarvi was instrumental with a pair of goals, helping erase a three-goal deficit with the Oilers trailing 4-1 with five minutes left in the second period, and Tyson Barrie recorded a goal and assist as the Oilers improved to 9-1-0 on the season with their fourth win in a row.

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS

GAME DAY
Lowe Jersey Retirement Ceremony
Oilers vs. Rangers
Highlights
Look Back at the In-Game Blog
POST-GAME VIDEO
OILERS TODAY | Post-Game vs. NYR
POST-RAW | Coach Tippett
POST-RAW | Hyman & Puljujarvi
POST-RAW | Nurse & McDavid

POST-GAME UPDATES
Inside The Oilers Blog

FIRST BLOOD

The Rangers struck first inside the opening two minutes of the hockey game. Defenceman Nils Lundkvist let go of a shot from inside the blueline that was knocked down, but the puck dropped kindly to forward Filip Chytil between the hashmarks to wrist back across Koskinen for an early 1-0 lead on the game's first shot.

PLAY OF THE GAME

You could tell by the look on his face after it happened - McDavid knew he scored an incredible goal.
The Oilers captain delivered a sure-fire Goal of the Year candidate to tie the contest at five with just under three minutes left in the game, breaking the ankles of the New York defence in a 1-on-4 situation and dangling Rangers netminder Alexandar Georgiev to send the crowd at Rogers Place into chaos.
What a goal, what a game, and what an atmosphere.

TURNING POINT

McDavid's jaw-dropping solo effort sent the rink into a frenzy and the game into overtime, where Draisaitl was left alone to accept Darnell Nurse's cross-ice pass and beat Georgiev five-hole to secure the Oilers an incredible comeback victory for the ages.

ROLLERCOASTER AT ROGERS

Talk about an up-and-down and emotional 60 minutes of action.
Both the Oilers and Rangers each had a streak of dominance in the game that had all the momentum in their favour, first when the Rangers scored three times in 4:02 of the second period to take a stranglehold on the scoreline.
Puljujarvi pulled one back for the Oilers with just over five minutes left in the second period, and the Oilers carried that spark into the final frame when Barrie ripped home a wrist shot on the power play at the one-minute mark before Puljujarvi scored his second of the night 1:35 later to tie the score and send Rogers Place into raptures.

TOP PERFORMER

McDavid earns the honours with his incredible move up the middle through four Rangers defenders that tied the score, with the captain adding two assists to a three-point stat line that elevates him to eight goals and 14 assists in 10 games this season.

PARTING WORDS

McDavid on the emotion he felt when he scored his incredible goal late in the third period:
"I thought we did a great job of coming out in the third and getting ourselves back into the game. I didn't like that we gave one up there to give back the lead, but I thought (the goal) was a big moment. I thought the crowd was into the game. It was an exciting night. It all kind of just escalated then."
McDavid on beating four Rangers players to bury an early Goal of the Year candidate:
"I wasn't happy I didn't keep the puck in the zone. I thought we were building something there and I kind of just lost the handle. I kind of just lost the handle on the puck all night, but I thought I'd just try to pick my way through there. I wasn't going overly fast, and the guys did a good job hustling back to get onside. I kind of just tried to pick my way through, find my way through, and thankfully I did."
"I'm paid to score big goals, and I'm paid to do that type of stuff. I'm just doing my job. Probably not the best idea to take four guys on every night, but I thought the situation was kind of weird. Everyone was kind of coming up, I was coming down the pipe, and I just tried to make a play."

McDavid on the significance of the win for Kevin Lowe's jersey retirement and the Oilers overall record:
"We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. It's 10 games in and we've had a good start. It's a special night obviously with all of the legends in the building, a special night for Kevin's family, and what he means to the city and what he means to the Oilers. Obviously we wanted to perform well, and I thought we didn't do that for a huge part of the game. Finding a way to win a game like that, you can build on it. We have a couple of days off here now, but it's definitely something to build on."
Zach Hyman on the reaction from the Oilers bench on the McDavid goal:
"I don't know if you were watching the bench, but the bench went crazy. The time in the game to score a goal like that, it's pretty special, obviously. Only he can make a play like that, so it's just Connor being Connor."
Hyman on the special feeling with this Oilers group and beginning the season with a franchise-best start of 9-1-0:
"Just finding ways to win. I don't think we've played our best hockey yet. We haven't really played a consistent 60 minutes, and we're always pushing to find a way to win. That's what good teams do. They find ways to win, and it doesn't matter how. It doesn't have to be pretty, but you find a way to win. This group really loves playing together, and it's really early, but we're having a tonne of fun and we like winning. It's going well for us right now."

Nurse on the energy and atmosphere inside Rogers Place tonight and the impact it had on the Oilers players:
"Hundred per cent. Even a couple of sequences before (McDavid's goal) when we had them hemmed in their zone, everyone's standing on their feet and going ballistic. I think as a player you try to stay even-keel, but that emotion that comes from the fans really juices you up and makes you want to play hard. It definitely is a factor and it was a lot of fun out there tonight."
Puljujarvi on his two-goal performance with Finnish legend Jari Kurri in the building:
"Maybe. I didn't really think about that, but I told my girlfriend today that Kurri is here."
Head Coach Dave Tippett on coaching this team with its current lineup and level of belief:
"Any team when you're winning is fun to coach, but this is a good group. This is a special group. They believe in themselves in there, and that's a good step in the right direction. We've got off to a very good start, and we've got a really challenging next few weeks here with a couple of road trips. I'm very happy for the guys. They've worked hard, and we'll get a couple of days of rest here then head out on the road."