EDMONTON — Leon Draisaitl could not have made a much bigger impact in his return to the Edmonton Oilers' lineup.
Draisaitl scored late to tie the game and then won it in overtime with his league-leading 51st goal of the season as the Oilers snapped a two-game losing skid with a 3-2 victory over the rival Calgary Flames on Saturday.
The Oilers tied the game 2-2 with 3:12 remaining in the third period as Evan Bouchard passed the puck to Draisaitl and he cut in from the wing and beat Calgary goalie Dustin Wolf stick-side.
Then in extra time, Jeff Skinner dropped the puck back to Draisaitl in the slot and he blasted a shot past Wolf 2:25 into overtime for the win. It was Draisaitl’s sixth overtime goal this season, setting a new NHL record.
"Tight games are always a little bit more special, a little more fun to be in. I thought we played well for the most part and hung in there and sometimes you have to win those games as well,” said Draisaitl, who missed the last four games after suffering a lower-body injury during last week's game against Utah.
The 29-year-old German forward also had an assist in the contest against a desperate Flames team that is fighting to secure a wild-card berth.
“That’s an urgent group over there, obviously they’re in a fight. And so are we,” he said. “I thought it was great the way we stuck with it, that was really well done. Sometimes they’re not all pretty, but I thought we played a solid game.
“Those are the types of games we are going to have to win, tight-checking, good defensive hockey. Getting comfortable in these situations is big right now.”
It is Draisaitl’s fourth 50-goal season, tying Jari Kurri for second most in Edmonton franchise history, behind Wayne Gretzky’s eight seasons. He is only the fourth player born outside of North America with four 50-goal campaigns.
There are only two active players in the NHL with four 50-goal seasons to their credit — Draisaitl and some guy named Alex Ovechkin.
Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch was impressed with Draisaitl’s return to the lineup.
“In on all three goals and some pretty big plays, key ones, probably the most key the tying goal coming down the rink and sniping that,” he said. “I'm sure he garnered a few votes for some hardware after the season.”
Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse, who had a pair of assists on the night, said Draisaitl was beyond clutch in his return.
“He was amazing tonight, coming back from an injury and scoring two crucial goals for us,” he said. “He made some amazing defensive plays over the course of the game — he was our leader out there tonight.
“Sometimes you take for granted the big moments that happen throughout the season, the big moments that players produce. He's done so much for our group, not just this year but years in the past, and he just continues.”
Flames head coach Ryan Huska said Draisaitl was difficult to contain.
“He’s one of the best, if not the best in the NHL this year,” he said. “When you have someone of his calibre and you give him the room on the ice and you allow him to shoot the puck as much as he did tonight, eventually he’s going to break through and score. So, I don’t think we did a good enough job against him tonight.”
Viktor Arvidsson also scored for the Oilers (42-26-5) who remained without star forward Connor McDavid, top pairing defenceman Mattias Ekholm and starting goalie Stuart Skinner. Edmonton moved into a tie for second place in the Pacific Division with the Los Angeles Kings.
Calvin Pickard made 26 stops to collect the win in net.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 29, 2025.
Shane Jones, The Canadian Press
