NEW YORK — Leon Draisaitl scored on the power play with 2:02 remaining and the Edmonton Oilers came back from three goals down in the third period for a 4-3 win against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
Draisaitl’s goal came after the Oilers scored three goals in a span of 5:42, with defenseman Evan Bouchard getting his first two of the season, and Dylan Holloway tying it with his first NHL goal.
Jack Campbell made 20 saves and the Oilers (11-10-0) salvaged the last game of a three-game road trip that began with losses to the New Jersey Devils (5-2) and New York Islanders (3-0).
“Big character win, but we’ve got to learn from our mistakes,” Draisaitl said. “We’ve got to learn quickly too. We can’t be going down 3-0 every single game. It’s too exhausting on guys, it’s too exhausting on players. You’ve got to shorten the bench. But, like I said , really big win for us and we’ve got to build off it.”
Alexis Lafreniere ended an 11-game goal drought in the first period, scoring for the first time since Oct. 30, for the Rangers (10-8-4), who have lost their past two games. Chris Kreider and Julien Gauthier scored 33 seconds apart in the second after the Rangers had two goals removed because the Oilers were successful on the coach’s challenges.
Igor Shesterkin made 28 saves but allowed four goals on eight shots in the third.
“There’s a lot of guys responsible,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. “It’s a team collapse.”
Video: EDM@NYR: Oilers score 4 in the 3rd to win
It was the second time this season the Rangers went into the third period with a multi-goal lead and wound up losing in regulation. It also happened Nov. 8 against the Islanders, when they led 3-1 after 40 minutes but lost 4-3.
“We might have had some bad periods, but I don’t remember a four-goal period, so for tonight we were awful,” Gallant said. “It’s embarrassing. It’s not acceptable.”
Bouchard started the Oilers comeback with a goal at the end of a power play at 4:39 of the third period, cutting the Rangers lead to 3-1.
Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller was in the box for hooking the Oilers forward Warren Foegele.
“I kind of knew as a team that goals were coming for us,” Bouchard said. “We had our chances, just couldn’t score. Lucky enough, we got one in. Once the one went in, everything was going in.”
Bouchard scored again on a one-timer from near the top of the zone at 7:32 to make it 3-2.
“Evan Bouchard has had a ton of chances this year, it hasn’t gone his way, but the goals that went in today were shooter’s goals,” Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. “You don’t realize how much offense comes off his stick, whether it’s a good first pass or a shot from the blue line. He’d been having a tough go with getting shots blocked, but he found a way to get them on net in that third period. We don’t win the game without his effort.”
Holloway tied it at 10:21, beating Shesterkin with a shot from the left face-off circle for his first NHL goal in his 17th game.
“It’s pretty special,” Holloway said. “Cool moment. Definitely a memory and a goal that I’ll remember forever.”
Draisaitl had the chance on the power play late in the third period after Lafreniere was called for roughing the Oilers defenseman. Tyson Barry in the offensive zone.
“They got four goals in the third period for no reason besides us giving them the opportunities,” Gallant said. “Two dumb penalties, both goals, and a couple goals in between.”
Video: EDM@NYR: Lafrenière tips it in to start scoring
Lafreniere gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 2:20 of the first period. He gained position on Philip Broberg in front of the net and redirected Adam Fox‘s pass from the right face-off circle.
Artemi Panarin beat Campbell with a wrist shot at 10:47 of the first, but Edmonton challenged, and video review showed Vincent Trocheck was offside nine seconds earlier.
New York had another goal taken back at 14:32 of the second, when video review determined Ryan Carpenter interfered with Campbell’s ability to make a save on Braden Schneider‘s one-timer from the right circle.
“We were positive that neither one of those was a fair goal and in the end we were proven right,” Woodcroft said.
But the Rangers still got two goals before the second intermission. Kreider banked the puck in off Campbell to give New York a 2-0 lead at 15:54, and Gauthier scored off a scramble in front at 16:27 to make it 3-0.
“Tough one, especially when we did it to ourselves,” Rangers center Mika Zibanejad said. “Just have to be better than that. We can’t just be as passive as we were. We let them back in the game and it’s hard to take that momentum back when it happens. We weren’t able to do that.”
NOTES: Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren did not play the final 13:04 of the third period because of an upper-body injury. Gallant said he’s day to day. … Broberg played 10:22 in his season debut after being recalled from Bakersfield of the American Hockey League on Friday.
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