Forward moves 1 shy of 1,000; Draisaitl ends it with 2nd of game at 1:52

Islanders at Oilers | Recap

By Gerry Moddejonge

NHL.com Independent Correspondent

November 13, 2024

EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid had a goal and three assists for the Edmonton Oilers, who recovered for a 4-3 overtime win against the New York Islanders at Rogers Place on Tuesday.

McDavid got the primary assist, his 999th NHL point, on Leon Draisaitl's game-winning goal at 1:52 of overtime. He skated in off the bench and took a drop pass from Evan Bouchard before passing to a cutting Draisaitl, who roofed a shot over Ilya Sorokin's right shoulder from the bottom of the left circle.

“Nights like that I don’t want to come off the ice," McDavid said. "I felt good. I thought (Oilers coach) Kris (Knoblauch) did a great job of giving me lots of opportunities tonight. I felt good and lucky to contribute to a good win.”

NYI@EDM: Draisaitl puts in the overtime winner with a beautiful shot

McDavid has 340 goals and 659 assists in 658 career games. The 27-year-old is on pace to become the fourth-fastest player in NHL history to reach 1,000 points, behind Wayne Gretzky (424 games), Mario Lemieux (513) and Mike Bossy (656).

“Nothing’s happened yet. I guess maybe I’ll save that for when it happens,” McDavid said. “But it’s not lost on me the speed to get there with the names that are there above me, two of the very best. But nothing has happened. I have to get ready for another one on Thursday.”

Draisaitl scored twice, and Bouchard had a goal and two assists for the Oilers (8-7-1), who have won two in a row. Stuart Skinner made 19 saves.

“There are good teams in this league, they’ll push back. We’ll take the two points,” Draisaitl said. “You have to be careful with things like that because this league humbles you so quick it is scary."

Anders Lee scored twice in the third period, and Kyle Palmieri had a goal and an assist for the Islanders (6-6-4), who have lost two in a row but are 2-0-2 in their past four. Sorokin made 38 saves.

“There are nights going home you’re [ticked] off, there are nights you’re going home and say, ‘OK, we stole a point.’ And tonight, that was the case,” New York coach Patrick Roy said. “Down 3-1, the guys showed a lot of resilience. ... But at the end, I think we were just gassed. We had a hard time breaking out because the guys could not move their feet and everything, so I’m extremely proud of our guys. Extremely proud. That was a good effort by our guys, and we played against a very good team.”

NYI@EDM: Lee caps off a passing play to even the score late in the 3rd

Draisaitl gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal 36 seconds into the second period. He scored with a one-timer off the left shoulder of Sorokin from the bottom the right circle.

“[Draisaitl's] been really finding the back of the net. Great shots from him tonight from his usual spots there and then from the other side in overtime,” McDavid said. “Just an amazing finisher, an amazing player. He’s playing really well."

Palmieri tied it 1-1 at 15:58, burying a one-timer from the top of the left circle off a pass from Maxim Tsyplakov.

Bouchard put the Oilers back in front 2-1 with a wrist shot from the left circle 57 seconds into the third period.

McDavid made it 3-1 at 10:19, taking a backhand pass from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and lifting a backhand of his own over the glove of Sorokin.

NYI@EDM: McDavid sends in a backhand to make it 3-1

Lee cut it to 3-2 at 12:54, roofing the rebound of Ryan Pulock's shot in the right circle. He then tied it 3-3 at 17:20 with a one-timer from the low slot with Sorokin pulled for the extra skater.

“We didn’t have enough zone time tonight, too many one and dones,” Lee said. “But at the same time, this is a high production team that we’re playing. They’re building off last season, they’re deep in familiarity and they played a good hockey game.

“I thought Sorokin stood tall and gave us a chance to tie that game up, which is a big point when you’re down 3-1 with a few minutes left on the road here. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the second (point) but kept it within reach to get it to OT for the single point.”

NOTES: McDavid has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past two games. ... Lee has eight points (three goals, five assists) in his past six games. ... Draisaitl has 10 points (six goals, four assists) in his past six games. He also scored his 16th overtime goal, tying McDavid for the most in Oilers history.