Evan Bouchard scored his second goal 30 seconds into overtime and seven seconds into a power play to lead the Edmonton Oilers to a 4-3 victory over the Dallas Stars on Saturday.
Corey Perry had a goal and an assist, and Derek Ryan also scored for the Oilers, who are 3-3-0 after a 16-game winning streak that came one game short of setting the league record. This season, they’ve gone 6-1 after regulation and 4-1 in overtime.
Bouchard scored his second overtime goal in five weeks, despite being unsure whether the puck would go in when he shot after gliding down the slot. Following Wyatt Johnston’s hooking penalty, Edmonton played 4 on 3.
“I saw their D man (Ryan Suter) put a screen for me,” Bouchard explained. “I figured I’d put it on the net.”
This season, the defenseman has 14 goals and 50 points, his career highs.
The Oilers’ first goal came on four power plays, after Dallas had killed their opponents’ previous ten penalties in four games.
“They’re an opportunistic team,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer explained. “If you take penalties, they’re going to make you pay.”Edmonton’s Connor McDavid recorded an assist, giving him 13 in his past five games.
Calvin Pickard made 24 saves to earn his sixth consecutive win in spot starts since December 12.
Matt Duchene had a goal and two assists, while Mason Marchment and Thomas Harley each had one goal and an assist for the Stars, who saw their three-game winning run ended. Jake Oettinger made 20 saves and had his seven-game winning run end.
Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl contributed two assists.
A Stars power-play goal 1:08 into the second period was the first of four goals in the session’s first seven minutes, tying the score at two apiece after a scoreless first period.
Marchment’s one-timer after a rebound was followed by Bouchard’s shot over Oettinger’s left shoulder and into the far corner less than a minute after. Harley put Dallas ahead again at 4:47, finishing a cross-ice feed from Duchene, but Perry, a former Star who joined the Oilers in late January, deflected McDavid’s attempt from the left circle at 6:55.
The Stars played 1:43 of 5-on-3 hockey later in the period, during which Draisaitl struck a post. Dallas defenseman Jani Hakanpaa departed the game with an upper-body injury sustained while blocking a shot during the penalty kill.
The period concluded 3–3 as both sides scored during a Stars power play in the final minutes. At 18:42, Ryan sent a shot under Oettinger’s right arm for a shorthanded goal, and 20 seconds later, Duchene tucked the puck in at the post from beside the net after Pickard made the original save.
For the second straight game, the Stars scored two power-play goals, marking their first such back-to-back performance this season.
Duchene has four straight multi-point games. He has 22 goals and 55 points in 54 games after scoring 22 and 56 in 71 games for Nashville last season.
Marchment has a career-high nine-game point streak.
