GAME RECAP: Oilers 4, Utah HC 3 (OT)

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scores the unassisted game-winner in overtime to claim the Oilers the extra point in a 4-3 victory over Utah in their first-ever meeting on Friday at the Delta Center

November 30, 2024

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Rubbing salt on the wound in extra time.

After falling behind 2-0 after 20 minutes in their first-ever meeting with Utah Hockey Club, the Oilers came back with three goals in the second period before Ryan Nugent-Hopkins claimed the extra point for his side with the overtime winner in a 4-3 victory on Friday night at the Delta Center.

"There was definitely a little internal talk in between the first and second," Nugent-Hopkins said. "I still think in the second, Picks had to make some good stops and we got a kill. That kind of gave us a little boost. We got a power-play goal and we went from there. It probably was a night we didn't feel our best, but getting two points is huge on a night like this."

Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid scored on back-to-back power plays in the second period to give the Oilers a 3-2 lead after Vasily Podkolzin scored his second goal in as many games early in the frame, but the hosts got the game to overtime in the third with a Lawson Crouse tally and an important penalty kill in the final three minutes of regulation.

Nugent-Hopkins stole the puck off Utah forward Matias Maccelli in overtime and sniped the game-winning goal low blocker on netminder Karel Vejmelka to give the Oilers the victory in the first of back-to-back games this weekend.

"I thought he had a really good game tonight," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said of Nugent-Hopkins. "I thought he was making a lot of nice plays, and obviously, the biggest play was putting the puck in during overtime. He worked hard to create that turnover and turn around to get that opportunity. But we're talking a lot about the power play tonight and how good that was. Ryan had a lot to do with that, too."

Draisaitl and McDavid each recorded a goal and an assist to extend their personal point streaks to four games, totalling four goals and four assists apiece over that span, and defenceman Evan Bouchard also attributed two assists in the victory.

Goaltender Calvin Pickard made 28 saves on 31 shots for the win that improves Edmonton's overall record to 12-9-2 heading into the conclusion of their back-to-back set on Saturday night at Ball Arena against the Colorado Avalanche.

Nugent-Hopkins scores the OT winner in a 4-3 victory over Utah

It was a 'U-tall' order for the Oilers after the opening frame, facing a 2-0 deficit following their franchise's first-ever period against the Hockey Club.

The Oilers were running and gunning for their chances in the opening frame, receiving a pair of wide-open looks in the first five minutes for Adam Henrique and Jeff Skinner that were stood up by netminder Karel Vejmelka, who'd continue to deny the Blue & Orange at point-blank range for the rest of the period.

Utah opened the scoring 6:17 into the period when they unravelled the Oilers off a neutral-zone turnover by Evan Bouchard, who coughed up the puck before trying to defend the ensuing two-on-one where Kevin Stenlund slid it under him to Alexander Kerfoot for the tap-in past Calvin Pickard at the other post.

Soon after, the Oilers had the puck on Leon Draisaitl's stick on a two-on-one of their own with Connor Brown as the German tried to filter it through past defenceman Michael Kesselring, but the former Oilers prospect broke up the play. Draisaitl could've released a shot to challenge Vejmelka, and considering he came into Friday's game as the NHL's second-leading scorer with 16 goals, that might've given the Oilers a better chance at equalizing.

Former Edmonton Oil King Dylan Guenther was stood up in close by Pickard minutes later, but Utah would find their second goal on a point shot from Juuso Valimaki that Edmonton's netminder saved before it hit the skate of Logan Cooley and was tapped home by the centreman for the 2-0 lead.

Late in the period, defenceman Troy Stecher was stopped by the glove of Vejmelka on a wide-open look from the left circle before Kasperi Kapanen struck the far post from the opposite circle in the final minute of the frame.

Kris talks following Friday's 4-3 overtime win against Utah

Coming out of the intermission, the Oilers were determined to respond and showed their composure to wrestle the lead back from Utah over the middle 20 minutes on Friday.

"We just needed to get going there. We weren't playing to our standard," Nugent-Hopkins said. "Sometimes, you need to have a hard talk within your group and nobody was calling each other out, Nothing like that. We knew that we had better and obviously, we showed that in the second and third."

It might've been a hard discussion, but the message was delivered.

"We absolutely addressed that it wasn't good enough, and it's very powerful when it comes from the players," Knoblauch said. "So if players are calling each other out, that's very good on them. They responded and played better, and I still think we still had more to play or get better at, but they know that that's not an acceptable level of play. They know they can play better than that."

Leon speaks after Friday's 4-3 overtime win over Utah

The Oilers completely flipped the script on Utah in the middle frame with the help of two well-taken power plays, along with Vasily Podkolzin potting his second goal in as many games to get his side on the board 9:44 into the period.

"I think we just found our legs and started to just take pride in playing with the puck," Draisaitl said. "When you throw pucks away and don't take care of them, you're defending a lot because you don't have it. If you take care of the puck and value the puck and make good plays, then you're going to have it a lot more. That snowballs into looks and chances."

After Troy Stecher started a breakout below the Oilers goal line by getting it to Draisaitl along the boards, the German delivered a pin-point pass to Podkolzin in the neutral zone to create a two-on-one with Darnell Nurse where the Russian forward took his chance by beating Vejmelka five-hole.

Podkolzin goes five-hole for his second goal in as many games

The tally was his second of the season, scoring in back-to-back games after breaking his 44-game goalless drought this past Saturday against the Rangers. Stecher picked up the secondary helper as consolation for being stopped by Kejmelka in the first period and is now seven assists away from 100 for his career.

"The confidence to be able to shoot that puck and kind of power it through him there," Nugent-Hopkins said. "I know a lot of times, our group wants to make that next play on the two-on-one, but obviously, it shows why shooting the puck is a great thing to do."

It was less than a minute later when defenceman Ty Emberson prevented a sure-fire Utah goal with a professional hooking penalty on Barrett Hayton in front of the Oilers net, setting up the home side's opening power play that the Blue & Orange killed off comfortably to improve to 17-for-17 over their last eight games.

Then came Edmonton's turn with the man advantage, and they didn't disappoint.

"Our penalty kill certainly [has come around]," Draisaitl said. "I think our power play, we scored two big ones tonight, which is great, but we still got work to do there. Looking to get better every day."

Draisaitl converts from the right circle on the power play for his 17th

Beginning with an interference call on Corey Perry, the Oilers capitalized on their opening man advantage after Leon Draisaitl converted his 17th goal of the season when the puck bounced off a body and fell onto his blade inside the right circle. With a goal and assist in the second period, the German superstar notched his 250th career multi-point game in 742 career NHL appearances.

"It's the way it goes sometimes," Draisaitl said. "We've had those plays bounce the other way or bounce over a stick earlier in the year, so some of those are going to fall on our tape. Hopefully, it continues that way."

Draisaitl was foiled on Edmonton's second power play that started 28 seconds later by a vital block from Mikhail Sergachev, but after the puck was moved back up to Bouchard at the blueline by Perry, the defenceman gave it to his captain Connor McDavid to snipe an unstoppable shot top shelf on Vejmelka for the 3-2 advantage.

"It was a big moment to get that one, so it was a great job by Perrs and Bouchy keeping pucks alive and obviously was a great shot on the second one," Nugent-Hopkins said.

Both McDavid and Draisaitl picked up a goal and an assist each to push their respective point streaks to an identical four games, recording four goals and four apiece as the Oilers carried their one-goal lead into the second intermission.

McDavid snipes Edmonton into a 3-2 lead with another power-play goal

For how one-sided the opening two periods were, it was end-to-end hockey the rest of the way – starting with Utah's equalizer 3:42 into the third period.

The home side regrouped off a change in the neutral zone and had it on the stick of former Oilers forward Nick Bjugstad at the blueline, who reversed it to Lawson Crouse to walk in past Bouchard and snipe it off the far post to score a pretty tying goal with over 16 minutes left to play.

While Utah pressed on from their equalizer, Calvin Pickard was called upon to make a terrific lateral save on Clayton Keller as he lashed across his crease to get his right pad to a one-timer from the forward in the left circle off a cross-crease pass delivered by Nick Schmaltz.

"Huge, especially after they just got one and then came back," Nugent-Hopkins said of Pickard's save. "They made a good play there. He has to get all the way across. They get a lead and it's tough to pull your way back against any team, and I think this team has taken a lot of steps in our defence and the way we play. It's harder to create opportunities, so it was a massive save at a huge time for us."

The Oilers had the opportunity to decide the game on a late power play created by Sergachev interfering with Draisaitl along the Utah bench, but the hosts stemmed the time to force overtime with both teams picking up a point after 60 competitive minutes of hockey at the Delta Center.

Ryan speaks after scoring the overtime winner in Utah on Friday

Death and taxes. Nugent-Hopkins low blocker.

There was only one place Nugent-Hopkins was placing his shot in extra time, but the effort was equally as good as the finish from No. 93.

"Nuggy is a clutch player," Draisaitl said. "He plays really well in tight games and obviously, for him to get rewarded, we probably get more excited about it than he does. But a great play by him all around."

The longest-tenured Oilers forward iced the victory for Edmonton in their first-ever trip to Salt Lake City with a terrific effort in extra time, stripping the puck off the Utah defenceman and barrelling in on a breakaway to snipe it blocker side on the southpaw Vejmelka at 1:18 of overtime.

"He's the opposite hand, so I just tried to see the spot and I hit it," Nugent-Hopkins said. "I think quite a few times this year, I've either missed it by a couple of inches, or the goalie's made a good stop on it, or I hit the post or whatever. But obviously, it's nice to see them go in once in a while."

Nugent-Hopkins goes low blocker for the game-winner in overtime