Oilers score three unanswered in the third to beat surging Habs: Recap, Highlights, and Reaction

Midway through the second period, the Oilers took a 2-1 lead as Adam Henrique deflected a Jake Walman shot into the back of the net for his second of the season.

About three minutes later, the Oilers extended their lead to 3-1, as Andrew Mangiapane was left all alone in front of the net, beating Sam Montembeault over the blocker. That lead didn’t last long, as the Canadiens scored three goals in under two minutes to take a 4-3 lead into the second intermission.

Things went from bad to worse for the Oilers, as Newhook scored his second of the game just over two minutes into the third period to make it 5-3. But for the first time this season, the Oilers showed some resilience, cutting the lead to one thanks to a Leon Draisaitl power play goal.

While the Oilers were celebrating that goal, Josh Anderson took an unsportsmanlike penalty. On the ensuing power play, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored his fifth of the season just 58 seconds after Draisaitl’s goal to tie the game at five.

It looked like this game was going to head to overtime, but Vasily Podkolzin was found in front of the net with his back to the goal. Despite this, he was able to roof it on his backhand to give the Oilers the lead with 69 seconds on the clock. They were able to hold on for the win.

Takeaways…

The Oilers won this game, a much-needed victory, but the officials played a significant role in turning the momentum. Before the Oilers scored their fourth goal, the Canadiens took a penalty that realistically should not have been called. That was also a soft unsportsmanlike call, at least from Josh Anderson’s actions. Granted, we don’t know what was said. The Oilers had five power play opportunities; the Canadiens only had one.

This was the third time the Oilers have blown a two-goal lead this season. It happened in the season opener, ending in a shootout loss, it happened in the game against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, and it happened again on Thursday. They are 2-0-1 when blowing a two-goal or more lead.

Defensively, this wasn’t a good game for the Oilers. Mattias Ekholm has continued to struggle this season, which hasn’t helped Evan Bouchard. At some point soon, the Oilers should look to move Jake Walman beside Bouchard, as Walman had another strong game. Bouchard picked up his second point of the season, an assist.

Darnell Nurse had a game. He wasn’t great defensively either, but he picked up two primary assists, including on the game-winning goal late in the game. He’s played a bit better next to Walman.

Vasily Podkolzin has continued to impress. He may never play like a 10th overall pick, but he has a goal and four points through eight games this season, and should be a fixture in the Oilers’ bottom six for seasons to come. He’s formed nice chemistry alongside Noah Philp and David Tomášek.

Speaking of Tomášek, the 29-year-old scored his first career NHL goal, as his slapshot took a fortunate bounce off a skate and into the net to give the Oilers their first goal of the night. I’ve liked what I’ve seen from the right-shot centre.

Matthew Savoie still seeks his first career goal. Playing alongside Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, he was held pointless. McDavid had three assists, but two of them came on the power play. Draisaitl had a relatively quiet night, scoring a goal.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article about how it may be best for Ike Howard to spend some time in the American Hockey League. I’m happy to admit I was wrong, as he’s really started to find his groove in the NHL. Next up for the reigning Hobey Baker winner is some more minutes, ideally alongside McDavid or Draisaitl.

Calvin Pickard had a rough game between the pipes, stopping 22 of 27 shots for an .815 save percentage. This one should’ve been Stuart Skinner’s game as the Oilers have a back-to-back coming up.

The Oilers play twice on the weekend. The first game of the back-to-back comes on Saturday, as they travel down to Seattle to face the Kraken at 8:00 PM MT. The following day, they’ll head north to face the Canucks at the same time.