The Isles delivered an entertaining effort but lost to a Draisaitl OT goal for the second time this season.
The Islanders lost to the Oilers, as you might expect, with Leon Draisaitl delivering the critical blows, as you might expect, but…it was a pretty good, entertaining game!
Draisaitl scored both goals and extended his points streak to 17. Speaking of 17, that’s how many of Ilya Sorokin’s 33 saves came in the first period.
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The Isles survived that poor first period — outshot 17-6 but scoreless, for the grace of Ilya — and rebounded in the second with a strong effort, though Draisaitl had the only tally to make it 1-0 for Edmonton.
A strong pushback continued into the third, with Bo Horvat tying it 1:21 in on a partial break of his own creation after a shot block. That set up a tight rest of the period with each team having a few chances and clamping down to force overtime.
Pierre Engvall had a very noticeable game and was rewarded with some overtime shifts, where he was effective. At the tail end of one after some good work in their zone, Oilers goalie Cal Pickard pounced on a loose puck to advance it to Connor McDavid, who sent Draisaitl in on an uncontested breakaway to pot the winner.
It’s the second time this season that the Islanders have lost to the Oilers on a Draisaitl OT goal. But this one was somehow less frustrating, at least to these eyes, thanks to low expectations and a surprisingly competent effort.
The outcome of one standings point of course only further buries their wild card attempt, but they’ll see it as a consolation coming after two regulation losses.
Up Next
After falling to the Cup runners-up, now the Cup-winning Panthers are next on the docket, visiting Long Island on Sunday night.