Edmonton Set Franchise Record With Win Against Rangers

The Edmonton Oilers have set a new franchise record after Leon Draisaitl scored in overtime on Friday against the New York Rangers on Friday.

The win on Friday was the first time in franchise history that the team had won nine of its first ten games. The winning overtime goal by Draisaitl at 3:27 was a welcome relief for Edmonton Oilers fans, who, after watching a pre-game ceremony for Hall of Famer Kevin Lowe, watched Edmonton come back from an early game deficit.

Also scoring for Edmonton was Tyson Barrie, Connor McDavid, Jesse Puljujarvi and Zach Hyman. Barrie, Draisaitl, McDavid, Darnell Nurse, Evan Bouchard, Duncan Keith and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins earned assists.

The night was reminiscent of the high-flying Oilers from the ’80s, one that Connor McDavid acknowledged during post-game interviews.

“It felt like the ‘80s out there at times tonight. We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. It’s 10 games in. It’s a good start. It’s a special night with all the legends in the building… Honestly, we wanted to perform well, and we didn’t do that for a large part of the game. But finding a way to win a game like that? You can build on it.”

Edmonton Sun

The goal by McDavid was a head-turner that came at 17:01 in the third period after the captain blasted past the Rangers defence before scoring his eighth goal of the season. McDavid, who leads the Oilers in goals, was praised by teammate Zack Hyman, who stated:

“The bench went crazy. At that time of the game, to score a goal like that, it was pretty special. Only he can make a play like that. It was just Connor being Connor. I think it is the best goal I have ever seen.”

After watching the Rangers take an early lead with Filip Chytil, Chris Kreider, Mike Zibanejad and Kevin Rooney scoring, The loss was disappointing for Rangers coach Gerard Gallant.

“I’m disappointed no doubt, the way it happened, we played a great 35 minutes, then we sort of started watching them a little bit. We were a little too passive, when you give teams time and space they’re going to make their plays, especially with their talent. We played too much in their D-zone the last 25 minutes of the game and it caught up to us.”

Edmonton was down 4-1 after Mike Zibanejad scored in the second period. However, things went downhill for the Rangers after Jesse Puljujarvi made it 4-2 with a powerplay goal. That gave Edmonton a boost as they recorded a powerplay goal in each of their first ten games this season, a first since 2007-2008 when the Penguins scored powerplay goals in their first ten games.

The Oilers’ added to their powerplay goals with another in the third period when Tyler Barrie scored, and they tied the game less than three minutes last when Puljujarvi scored a rebound, his second for the night.

Less than seven minutes later, the Rangers retook the lead when Zibanejad scored his second goal of the night. However, that lead was short-lived after the McDavid goal. With overtime underway, the Rangers started strong but quickly fizzled away as the frustration took hold.

While New York outplayed the Oilers for most of the opening period, but that was short-lived, and the impact of giving up an early lead costs the Rangers the game.

The Oilers will play again on Saturday when they welcome the Calgary Flames before heading to Detroit for a four-game road trip. Having won the last nine out of ten, the Oilers are on a hot streak and have set the perfect stage for in-play bettors wanting to back Edmonton in the upcoming road trip.