GAME RECAP: Oilers 4, Avalanche 3

DENVER, CO – No Avalanche is too deep for this team.

After falling behind by three goals in the first period, the Edmonton Oilers scored four unanswered goals to earn their fourth straight victory with their third multi-goal comeback over their last four games in a 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night at Ball Arena.

"The resiliency," said Evan Bouchard. "It's not something we necessarily want to do, but we found a way to come back and we're confident in our group when we're behind that we can contribute offensively."

Bouchard blasted the winner past netminder Mackenzie Blackwood with 6:55 remaining in regulation after goals from Viktor Arvidsson, Brett Kulak and Connor McDavid drew the Oilers level against the Avalanche in the second of back-to-back games for the Blue & Orange.

"We didn't quit," Bouchard added. "As I said, we know what we have. We know we can score goals, especially in a game like that on a back-to-back. It was going to be a tough game for us and we stuck with it, and it paid off."

McDavid notched his ninth straight 20-goal season after tying the game at 3-3 in the middle frame, becoming the fifth player in Oilers franchise history to achieve the feat, while Kulak's sixth marker of the campaign matched the Stony Plain product's career-high from the 2018-19 season.

Leon Draisaitl had two assists to record his third points streak of at least five games this season, recording two goals and seven assists over his current stretch, while both Arvidsson and Vasily Podkolzin got on the scoresheet to give them points in back-to-back games.

Goaltender Stuart Skinner made 22 saves for the victory, defeating Blackwood at the other end, who was tagged for more than two goals for the first time over 12 starts as a member of the Avalanche.

The Oilers will carry their four-game win streak into the final game of their four-game road trip on Saturday night at Rogers Arena against the Vancouver Canucks.

FIRST PERIOD

Having come back from multi-goal deficits in two of their previous three games, the Oilers would need to do it again after the Avalanche were carried to a 3-1 lead in the opening frame thanks to some exceptional play from superstar Nathan MacKinnon and goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood.

Blackwood was bailed out by the post in the early stages when Darnell Nurse sifted a pass over to Vasily Podkolzin on the rush, but despite beating the Colorado netminder with his one-timer from the left circle, the Russian's shot struck the near post and went out the other side of the crease.

The Oilers and Avalanche traded chances in the first five minutes before Logan O'Connor was able to walk out from the left corner and slide an unassisted marker around Stuart Skinner for the 1-0 lead. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins voiced his displeasure to the official after Mikko Rantanen hooked his stick below the goal line, allowing O'Connor to pick up the puck and walk out uncontested to open the scoring 5:17 into the period.

Rantanen eventually found his way to the penalty box not long after for slashing Corey Perry's stick in half, sending the Oilers to their first power play where Leon Draisaitl caused a scramble around the Avalanche crease before having a back-door chance off the feed from Connor McDavid stopped by a quick left-pad save from Blackwood.

Only 44 seconds after Rantanen exited the box, Nathan MacKinnon scored his first of two goals in the opening period for Colorado by walking into the slot and snapping his shot under the glove of Skinner for the 2-0 lead.

The Avalanche captain then scored a beauty of a goal to lift his side to a three-goal advantage, receiving a stretch pass from Devon Toews before sliding it through the legs of Evan Bouchard and going five-hole on Skinner, leaving the Oilers with another uphill battle to climb back from with over eight minutes left in the period.

Blackwood was perfect for the Avalanche in the opening frame until he was beaten by a weird one from Viktor Arvidsson in the final minute of the period, giving the Oilers something to build on heading into the intermission down by two.

The Swedish winger let go of a wrist shot from the top of the circle on the rush that clashed with the stick of defenceman Josh Manson, changing its trajectory and flat-footing Blackwood in the blue paint before beating him under the right pad.

"That was huge," Kulak said. "When you're down by two, it's a lot better feeling than down by three going into the second, so it was good to see that one go in and it was a good boost to help us reset."

Arvidsson's goal gives him points in back-to-back games after picking up an assist in Minnesota, along with Vasily Podkolzin who recorded an assist after scoring the winner in the third period last night against the Wild.

SECOND PERIOD

Head Coach Kris Knoblauch put it perfectly when describing the resilience of his team following Wednesday's comeback win over Minnesota:

"When things aren't going well, they don't pack it in. I absolutely love the character of this team."

The Oilers came out of the intermission and dominated the Avalanche during the second period, erasing another multi-goal deficit and tying the game at 3-3 heading into the final frame behind goals from Brett Kulak and Connor McDavid.

"We just kept our composure," Kulak said. "We liked we liked the way we were playing. Obviously, they were putting pucks in the net, which you know will happen when they're a good team, and we just bounced back and we knew we had lots of game left to come back and even it up."

At 13:43 of the period, Kulak scored for a second straight visit to Colorado and increased his point streak at Ball Arena to four games (2G, 2A) from almost exactly the same spot he did back on Nov. 30, when he scored in a 4-1 victory for the Oilers that also came in the second of back-to-back games.

"They're a good team, so you've got to be ready to play for sure," Kulak said. "Anytime the puck's going in for you, it's good, so to go two-for-two on the season here, I'm hoping we meet them again in the playoffs."

The Stony Plain product fired a seeing-eye shot on goal from the top-left section of the Avalanche zone that went untouched through traffic and beat a screened Blackwood, who was blinded in front by Corey Perry to bring Edmonton within one thanks to his sixth goal of the season – matching his career-high set during the 2018-19 season as a member of the Montreal Canadiens.

The Oilers tied the game with 5:11 left in the period after Connor McDavid became the fifth player in Oilers franchise history to record nine straight 20-goal seasons, putting away a rebound that came off a hard shot from Leon Draisaitl in the right circle.

The captain corralled the rebound and flipped it over the stretched-out Blackwood to condemn the netminder to his first game with more than two goals allowed over 12 starts as a member of the Avalanche.

McDavid is riding a three-game goal streak with four goals, and an assist for Draisaitl gives the German his third point streak this season of at least five games (2G, 5A), with the Oilers and Avalanche entering the final frame deadlocked at three.

THIRD PERIOD

Nothing can crack this Oilers team.

"They don't get rattled, which is nice to see," Knoblauch said. "And I think a lot of that has to do with the experience of a lot of these guys, having been together for a long time."

After coming all the way back from 3-0 down, defenceman Evan Bouchard blasted the Oilers to another comeback victory with 6:55 remaining in regulation, connecting on a wide-open Bouch Bomb off the feed from McDavid below the goal line that was rocketed into the top corner to give the Oilers a 4-3 lead.

Bouchard's eighth goal of the season was his first game-winning goal of the season and the 11th of his career, which ties him with Kevin Lowe for the third-most by an Oilers defenceman in franchise history. The 25-year-old leads all defencemen with 36 shots on goal since the start of 2025 and entered play tonight with a league-high 44 shot attempts at 145 kilometres per hour.

After Stuart Skinner made a clutch pad stop early in the period to deny MacKinnon his hat trick, the Oilers netminder sprawled out to deny him again at the right post with Colorado's net empty, preserving his team's lead and capping off another comeback victory for the Oilers on the road.

"He was great," Kulak said of Skinner. "A couple goals at the start. We didn't help him out very much, but he just settled in. He's always composed and always gives us a good effort and gives us a chance to win."

The Oilers have 12 come-from-behind wins this season, with six of those being multi-goal deficits, which is tied with the Seattle Kraken for the league lead. Edmonton became the 11th team this season to rally back from three goals down to win, thanks to their team's first three-goal comeback as a franchise since Game 4 of the 2023 First Round versus Los Angeles.

"Once you start doubting your system or doubting yourself – the team, your linemates or whatever – then you're not as effective," Knoblauch said. "We were down three-nothing playing a back-to-back against a very good hockey team, and I just liked how they kept on pushing."