EDMONTON, AB – Happy birthday, Bouch!
Evan Bouchard scored the emphatic winner on his 27th birthday, tucking his snap shot under the crossbar with 1:28 left in overtime as the Edmonton Oilers staved off a resilient Minnesota Wild comeback in the third period to earn the extra point in a 4-3 victory on Tuesday night at Rogers Place.
“The power play was a big part of this game,” Bouchard said. “Our penalty kill was stellar tonight, too. I just kind of got the puck in an open lane and took my shot.”
Leon Draisaitl had a pair of power-play goals, taking over the team lead with eight this season, while Connor McDavid extended his season-opening point streak to nine games with three assists and continued his torrid pace to begin the campaign.
The Oilers went 3-for-5 on the power play, while the penalty kill was a perfect 3-for-3 against the Wild’s second-ranked man advantage in the NHL coming into Tuesday.
“They pressed hard,” Bouchard said. “They’re a good hockey team. They weren’t going to quit. There are definitely some things to clean up, but in the end, we battled and got the win we needed.”
McDavid became the fastest player to reach 20 assists in a single season in NHL history, and the sixth player to record 25 points in the first 10 games of a season.
The Oilers captain now leads the League with six goals and 20 assists in nine games.