MONTREAL — Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored in the third period and Jonathan Drouin netted the winner in overtime as the Montreal Canadiens came from behind to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 on Sunday.
Shea Weber and Max Domi also scored for the Canadiens (29-18-6). Back in goal after serving a one-game suspension for missing the all-star game, Carey Price stopped 21-of-24 shots for his fifth win in a row.
Leon Draisaitl, with two, and captain Connor McDavid scored for the Oilers (23-24-5), who have lost five games in a row. Mikko Koskinen stopped 23-of-27 shots in defeat.
Edmonton has conceded 24 goals during their five-game skid.
After failing to generate any offence to start the third period, the Canadiens scored with 6:25 left on the clock, on their third shot of the period, to tie the game 3-3. Kotkaniemi netted his second goal in as many games when he roofed the puck on Koskinen from a tight angle after Domi battled hard for the puck behind Edmonton’s net.
Seconds after Price made back-to-back saves on Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse in overtime, Drouin scored the winner 58 seconds into the extra frame to give the Canadiens the victory.
It was the second game in a back-to-back set of matinee matchups for both teams. The Canadiens lost 3-2 in overtime to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday while the Oilers lost 5-4 to the Philadelphia Flyers, also in overtime.
Neither team looked tired, though, as the encounter was fast-paced and entertaining.
Weber got the Canadiens on the board 2:23 into the game with his 97th career power-play goal, a one-timer from the top of the face-off circle.
As a penalty to Domi expired, the Oilers tied the game at 9:44 of the first when Nurse’s shot bounced off Milan Lucic in front of goal and landed right on Draisaitl’s stick.
The home team restored its one-goal lead when Domi scored his 17th of the season on a wraparound while falling to the ice at 1:09 of the second period, just moments after he batted the puck out of mid-air.
McDavid made it 2-2 at 8:05 of the second, on the power play, for his team-leading 31st of the season on a pass from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
With Weber in the box for hooking, a wide-open Draisaitl gave the Oilers their first lead of the game at 14:55 of the second.
Edmonton finished 2 for 4 with the man advantage.
Notes: Paul Byron suffered an upper-body injury after taking a hit from Matt Benning in the second period and did not return.
Kelsey Patterson, The Canadian Press
