Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers responded the right way to a wake-up call after coach Todd McLellan was fired just hours before they took the ice on Tuesday night.
McDavid scored his 100th career goal and set up Leon Draisaitl’s game-winner 51 seconds into overtime to give the Oilers a 4-3 victory against the San Jose Sharks in Ken Hitchcock’s first game as coach.
“That’s what it has to be,” McDavid said. “Anytime you bring in a new coach, that’s kind of the last option I would say before shipping everyone out. This is a chance for us to come together and turn this around.”
Photo: AP
The Oilers started that process by overcoming three deficits to earn just their second win in eight games.
McDavid set up Drake Caggiula’s tying goal early in the third period and then the winner in overtime when his pass ricocheted off defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic before hitting Draisaitl’s skate and trickling past goaltender Martin Jones.
“I was more worried that it was past my bedtime and I wasn’t going to be able to stay up,” Hitchcock said. “I don’t think I’ve seen a third period all year out West, but for me, we just got better and better as the game went on. We got better in the second; we were really good in the third. We really got on the grind.”
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins added a shorthanded goal and Mikko Koskinen made 22 saves.
Joe Thornton assisted on Marcus Sorensen’s goal in the first period to tie Mario Lemieux for 11th place all-time with his 1,033rd helper. Joonas Donskoi and Logan Couture also scored for San Jose.
The Sharks took a 3-2 lead in the final minute of the second period when Couture deked Adam Larsson on the rush and beat Koskinen for his first goal in 11 games.
However, the Oilers responded early in the third when McDavid set up Caggiula on an odd-man rush for the equalizer less than four minutes into the period.
“There are too many odd-man rushes,” Couture said.
“It wasn’t horrible tonight. It was better than it has been, but still too many. Especially when you are out there against Connor. You can’t give them that many chances. He’s their best player,” he said.
The Hitchcock era got off to a rough start for the Oilers, who allowed a goal in the opening minute, when Donskoi was left alone in front of the net after a face-off win by San Jose.
Brent Burns’ shot from the point was stopped by Koskinen, but Donskoi was able to backhand the rebound in.
McDavid got the equalizer midway through the period, when he beat Burns down the slot to take a feed from Draisaitl and knocked it in for his milestone goal.
McDavid reached the mark in his 230th game. Only Wayne Gretzky (145 games), Glenn Anderson (183) and Jari Kurri (214) got there faster for the Oilers.
Thornton then reached his milestone later in the period when he fed Sorensen from behind the goal-line for a one-timer that beat Koskinen.
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