Devils Fall To Edmonton With 16.3 Seconds Left In Overtime

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Leon Draisaitl's goal with 16.3 seconds left in overtime lifted the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.

The Oilers (6-8-1) have now won consecutive games for the first time all season. Anton Slepyshev and Milan Lucic also scored for Edmonton, and Cam Talbot made 32 saves.

The Devils have lost four straight to fall to 9-4-2.

Cory Schneider made 29 saves for New Jersey. Brian Boyle and Drew Stafford scored for the Devils.

Following the franchise's first playoff appearance since reaching the Stanley Cup Final in the 2005-06 season, Edmonton was a trendy pick to win the Western Conference during the preseason.

However, the Oilers opened the season with a 3-6-1 record in October, and were 2-2-0 in November. Entering the game, Edmonton's 11 points were second worst in the Western Conference, ahead of only Arizona.

Edmonton never led in until Draisaitl's game-winner.

Boyle opened the scoring as he jammed a loose puck through Talbot, his one-time teammate with the New York Rangers, to give the Devils a 1-0 lead just 5:33 in.

The goal was Boyle's first of the season. Boyle had been diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid/Myelogenous Leukemia during training camp, and he had missed all of the preseason and New Jersey's first 10 games of the regular season while receiving treatment.

New Jersey had an opportunity to tack onto its lead before the end of the period, as the Devils were granted a power play due to Oscar Klefbom tripped first overall pick Nico Hischier at 17:46. But Stefan Noesen's shot from the top of the crease sailed wide, and the Devils went into intermission with the 1-0 advantage.

Noesen's missed shot came back to haunt New Jersey when Slepyshev tied the game at 6:50 of the second with his first of the season.

Still, it was the Devils who went into the second intermission with a 2-1 lead, on Stafford's fifth of the year at 18:25. Stafford used his body to shield the puck away from Mark Letestu, then tucked the puck past Talbot before being hit by Darnell Nurse.

Edmonton drew even on Lucic's third goal of the season 3:21 into the third, a drive from the left side which rolled through Schneider's legs.

The deadlock held until Draisaitl ripped a shot from the slot for the game-winner.

NOTES: The game was the culmination of the regular season series between New Jersey and Edmonton. ... New Jersey scratched defensemen Dalton Prout and Ben Lovejoy, and center Pavel Zacha. ... Right winger Kyle Palmieri returned to the Devils' lineup after missing six games with a lower body injury. ... Prior to the game, New Jersey announced left winger Marcus Johansson was put on injured reserve with a concussion. ... Defenseman Yohaan Auvitu, and left wingers Jujhar Khaira and Drake Caggiula were Edmonton's scratches. ... The Devils announced a sellout crowd of 16,514 on WWE Night at the Prudential Center. The arena will host the professional wrestling company's Smackdown Live! event on Dec. 19, so there were tie-ins throughout the game promoting the pseudo-sport.

UP NEXT

Oilers: Continue their four-game East Coast road trip Saturday in New York.

Devils: Finish three-game homestead Saturday against Florida.

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