Birthday Boy Leon Draisaitl Delivers In Oilers Overtime Win

I don't know what Leon Draisaitl asked for for his birthday, but he got a pretty sweet gift on Sunday.

View the original article to see embedded media.

Not only did the Oilers pull out an overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings to pull themselves to 4-4-1, but Draisaitl contributed two goals, including the game-winner, on his 29th birthday.

Things weren't looking so good for Edmonton early on. The Red Wings dominated the first period, outshooting the Oilers 13-5 and spending most of the frame in Edmonton's end. They were rewarded early, when Patrick Kane found J.T. Compher in the slot to give Detroit a 1-0 lead that stood after 20 minutes.

The Oilers answered right back in the second, dominating much as Detroit had in the first, while the Wings seemed to be feeling the effects of playing their second game in two days. The Oilers had to work hard to finally crack Red Wings netminder Cam Talbot, and it took a little luck to get that first marker.

It was none other than Draisaitl that finally found the back of the net, with a centering pass meant for Connor McDavid that deflected off Detroit defender Olli Maatta and past Talbot to tie the game at 1.

Detroit responded quickly, however, with a Jeff Petry bomb that was deflected home by Andrew Copp just 42 seconds later to regain the lead. Down 2-1 after two periods, it seemed like it was going to be yet another game where the Oilers just couldn't buy a goal, despite outshooting Detroit 16-7 in the second period.

They kept pressing in the third, surviving an early penalty with one of their best kills of the year, before Draisaitl delivered again. This time, he entered the Wings' zone with ease before finding Evan Bouchard for his patented Bouch Bomb. Bouchard placed it well, with some help from a picture-perfect Zach Hyman screen, to beat Talbot and tie the game yet again.

They continued to threaten late in the third as they searched for their first lead, but were denied by an unflappable Talbot. Their best chance came in the dying minutes of regulation when Andrew Copp took an interference call to send the Oilers to the powerplay. Despite the golden opportunity, they couldn't deliver, and it was off to overtime.

Draisaitl would not be deterred. The powerplay had barely ended when Mattias Ekholm found Draisaitl driving to the net, where he tipped it past Talbot to cap off a perfect birthday and another Oilers win.

Player of the Game: Leon Draisaitl

Who else but the birthday boy? His two-goal, three-point night extends his point streak to six games and gives him 6 goals and 10 points in 9 games to start the year. He wasn't just lucky either, leading the Oilers with seven shots on goal. Head coach Kris Knoblauch moved Draisaitl up to McDavid's wing in the second period, which helped get the team going after a rough start.

Play of the Game

Speaking of that rough start, the Oilers wouldn't have been in this game without the excellent play of Calvin Pickard. He kept the team alive when they were getting bowled over in the first period, with this huge save on Alex DeBrincat keeping the game from getting out of hand before the Oilers could get their act together.

It hasn't been perfect, but the Oilers have quietly rebounded from their 0-3 start with points in five out of their last six games, raising their points percentage to an even .500 through nine games. They get the chance to get themselves above .500 on Monday, when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets.

​​Bookmark The Hockey News Edmonton Oilers team site to never miss news, interviews, or any other updates on the Oilers.

Related: Oilers And Red Wings Starting Goalies To Face Former Teams

Related: Dylan Holloway Pulls Out Another Special Performance

Related: Evander Kane's New Recovery Timeline Is A Big Problem

Related: Former Oiler Ryan McLeod Can't Stop Scoring

Related: Struggling Former Oiler Put On Waivers

Related: Ex-Oilers Enforcer Tries To Spark New Team