GAME RECAP: Oilers 3, Flames 2 (OT)

EDMONTON, AB – King Leon, we are simply not worthy.

Forward Leon Draisaitl recorded the late equalizer to reach 50 goals for the fourth time in his career before he scored the overtime winner on Saturday night in the Battle of Alberta, giving the Edmonton Oilers two massive points in a 3-2 victory over the Calgary Flames at Rogers Place.

"It was great. That's an urgent group over there," Draisaitl said. "Obviously, they're in a fight and so are we, so I thought it was great the way we stuck with it and I thought that was really well done. They're not all pretty, but I thought we played a solid game."

The German reached the 50-goal mark with the tying goal at 3:12 of the third period before scoring 2:25 into the extra frame to complete the late rally from the Oilers that was led heroically by their superstar, who also added an assist in his return from a four-game injury absence on Viktor Arvidsson's 11th goal of the campaign.

"He was amazing tonight, coming off an injury and scoring two crucial goals for us," defenceman Darnell Nurse said. "He made some amazing defensive plays over the course of the game. He was our leader out there tonight and played incredible."

Edmonton's huge victory over their rivals was propped up by 26 saves from goaltender Calvin Pickard, who made the stop on Nazem Kadri in overtime that led to Draisaitl's winner at the other end, and two assists from Darnell Nurse, who reached 30 points in a season for the seventh straight campaign.

With the victory, the Oilers move themselves eight points clear of the Flames for third place in the Pacific Division, while two points on Saturday puts them level with the Los Angeles Kings on 89 points with a 42-26-5 overall record.

"It was a lot of fun out there. I think it was a good game and hard fought on both sides," Nurse said. "You saw the emotion, the physicality, the chirping and good goaltending. The game really had it all and it was just a lot of fun to be a part of. So I think for our group, it was important. We wanted to come out here and get the win, and I thought we did a lot of things the right way by sticking with it to give ourselves a chance."

The Blue & Orange now embark on a four-game Pacific road trip where they'll face off against the Golden Knights, Sharks, Kings and Ducks starting on Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena against the division leaders in Vegas.

FIRST PERIOD

After Brett Kulak took a holding penalty against Brayden Pachal below the Edmonton goal line to award Calgary an early power play, the game was temporarily paused for over 10 minutes to allow first responders to attend to attend to an medical emergency in the stands, with the concern of fans, coaches and players alike inside Rogers Place quickly turning the individual involved in hopes of a positive outcome.

The Edmonton Oilers are sending their best wishes to the fan and want to give a huge thank you to the paramedics, doctors and everyone involved who helped handle the difficult situation with swift action and the outmost professionalism in caring for their well-being.

When the 'OK' was given for play to resume, the Flames wouldn't convert on their power play, but they were able to open the scoring over a minute after Kulak had exited the box.

Nazem Kadri had a low shot from the right circle kicked away by the right pad of Calvin Pickard, but Yegor Sharangovich was attacking the back post and was able put away the rebound to give the visitors a 1-0 lead 4:32 into the first period.

Later in the frame, the Oilers had a chance to get it back on the man advantage with Draisaitl back operating in his usual spot inside the right circle, and the German forward came inches away from goal No. 50 this season when he whizzed a quick snap shot past the far post.

Troy Stecher was shaken up after colliding with Blake Coleman in the corner when he collided with the forward and had his skate come in close contact with his face, but the Oilers defenceman was able to shake it off before the intermission and take his next shift.

On a late odd-man rush with under 30 seconds left in the frame, Draisatl had another shot at reaching 50 goals on a two-on-one with Kasperi Kapanen, but his snap shot was turned aside by a smart save by goalie Dustin Wolf with the right pad to keep Calgary in front after the first period.

SECOND PERIOD

Keep shooting, Leon, and eventually, it'll come – for both you and the Blue & Orange.

But if you didn't know already, he's a pretty good passer, too.

"There's not many pass-first 50-goal scorers, and he's one of them," Nurse said. "I think obviously his vision for the game and the way he sees things is second to none, and I think on top of that, when you're passing and seeing the game the way he does, you'll find open space and opportunities to get your shot off. He's worked on getting his shot and scoring goals from tough areas, too, and it's night in and night out where he does these things for our group."

Chances during an otherwise quiet second period started to pick up around its midway point, where following an in-close stop by Calvin Pickard against winger Adam Klapka for his first major intervention of the contest, Draisaitl took further aim at No. 50 with back-to-back dangerous looks.

The German was found wide open in the slot from behind the net by a terrific pass from below the goal line from Vasily Podkolzin that forced Wolf into coming up with the stop on the League's leading goal scorer, who was starting to feel it in his return from a four-game injury absence on Saturday.

Draisaitl had another good opportunity on a two-on-one with Zach Hyman that came off a neutral-zone exchange to catch the Flames on a bad change, electing to shoot but being unable to catch Wolf short side to tie the game.

"I didn't really hit my spots on those two-on-ones, to be honest" he said. "And the second one, he made a really nice stop."

But the Deutschland Dangler's cross-ice pass to pick out Viktor Arvidsson at 3:40 of the middle frame would help produce the tying goal.

Defenceman Joel Hanley got a piece of Draisaitl's pass with his stick, but that touch wasn't enough to change the puck's course before it landed on Arvidsson's stick for a shot that snuck under Wolf's right arm to tie the game at 1-1 with his 11th goal of the season.

The Swedish winger scored his first goal against the Flames as a member of the Oilers, and Leon Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse both picked up the assists.

It wouldn't be the Battle of Alberta without a bit of animosity, and that element picked up during a scrum after the whistle that followed Pickard getting snowed by Mikael Backlund after making a massive double save on a breakaway for Calgary winger Joel Farabee in the final minute of the frame.

Winger Corey Perry came to the rescue of teammate Kasperi Kapanen, who was aggressively pulled to the ice by Rasmus Andersson by the collar of his jersey before the veteran ended up rag-dolling Backlund to draw a huge roar from the Rogers Place crowd. Perry earned the extra two minutes for roughing, but Edmonton was able to kill off the rest of the period and the remaining 1:17 of his infraction early in the third period.

The Battle was on.

"I think the second period was great," Nurse said. "There's lots of animosity, some physicality, and then the third period comes around and it's a hockey game. Games like these are fun to be a part of."

THIRD PERIOD

A half-century of reign for King Leon, and long may he keep the throne.

When the Oilers needed him the most, trailing 2-1 to the Flames with only a few minutes remaining, the German superstar picked the perfect moment to reach 50 goals in a season for the fourth time in his career with the clutch equalizer that resulted in the Blue & Orange getting to overtime for a point.

"The tight games are always a little bit more special and a little bit more fun to be in," he said. "I thought we played well for the most part, hung in there and sometimes, you have to win those games."

It took the Flames one breakthrough at their own blueline just under eight minutes into the final frame to find the go-ahead goal after Ty Emberson tried to keep it inside the zone before Kadri intercepted it and came up the ice on a partial three-on-two to Pachal skating into the slot for a wrist shot that beat Pickard over the right pad.

If there was ever going to be a good time for Leon to score his 50th goal, there was no better moment to lift his team in the Battle of Alberta.

On a quick counter-attack that was started at the Flames bench by a spin-around pass from Evan Bouchard, the League's leading scorer picked up the puck and walked in along the right side with the help of Zach Hyman to tuck away his 50th goal inside the far post, drawing a monstrous roar from the Edmonton faithful inside Rogers Place and chants of "MVP! MVP! MVP!" for his incredible accomplishment that tied things up in the Battle of Alberta.

"It's elite hockey sense," Draisaitl said of Bouchard's pass. "That kickstarted the entire play, and then Hyman actually made a really nice subtle play on the defenceman's stick to give me time to change the angle a bit. So lots of good plays on that goal."

Nurse took the MVP discussions a step further by putting Draisaitl on the NHL's iron throne with his incredible season and demeanour in the locker room.

"In my opinion, he's the MVP," he said. "Seeing what he's done so far this year, if we don't have a lot of the efforts and performances that he'd had, we're probably not sitting in the position that we're in. He's been so valuable to us as a group – not just on the ice, but off the ice too with his work ethic, his attention to detail, preparing for games and he sets a really good example for a lot of guys in this room.

"I think in my mind, it's not really a question."

OVERTIME

Hail to the King, baby.

No. 29 for the Oilers didn't wait more than a few minutes to score his 51st goal on the campaign that lifted the roof off Rogers Place on Saturday with the OT winner 2:25 into the extra frame, securing a huge victory for his team over a rival that he's thoroughly dominated over his career and in recent contests.

"I think they're all special in their own way, but obviously in that moment to find one – especially the way the game had gone – was nice and it feels good."

The Flames had possession for much of the first half of overtime until an up-high save by Pickard against Kadri sent the Oilers the other way on an odd-man rush, with Draisaitl making the play happen by outmuscling Kadri and making the outlet pass up to Jeff Skinner in the neutral zone.

As he trailed in as the third man, there was only player who was going to take the shot, and that was Edmonton's target man, who took the return feed from Skinner and dragged it into the slot and went back across Wolf by putting the game-winner off the post and in to seal the victory.

"First of all, if you saw his stick, you'd be surprised that he could shoot at all because it's a stick that I've never seen before," Knoblauch said. "But he's very deceptive. He does have some velocity, but I wouldn't say it's overpowering. I know the goalies find it very difficult to pick up his shot and are unsure where it's going to go."

With his 50th and 51st goals of the season and an assist on Arvidsson's second-period marker, Draisaitl now has 12 goals and 49 assists for 61 career points in 48 career games against Calgary – the most he's recorded against the club among active Oilers and his most he's recorded against any other team.

In his last 14 regular-season games against Calgary, he's picked up 28 points (9G, 19A), and his two goals on Saturday night in his return from four games out because of injury couldn't have been better timed to earn the Oilers two huge points in the Pacific Division playoff race.

"I'm sure he garnered a few extra votes for some hardware this after the season," Knoblauch said.