Kessel's OT goal lifts Penguins past Oilers
PITTSBURGH -- Phil Kessel scored off of a two-on-one with Evgeni Malkin 42 seconds into overtime to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena.
It was Kessel's 299th career goal.
In a game dominated by the goaltending rather than a marquee matchup of skilled centers Sidney Crosby of Pittsburgh and Connor McDavid of Edmonton, it was a defenseman scoring his first goal of the season that broke the ice.
Ian Cole scored on Pittsburgh's 32nd shot, at 3:24 of the third. Cole threaded a shot from the right edge of the high slot around a crowd and over the blocker of Edmonton goaltender Cam Talbot.
Ryan Reaves, who earlier ignited the crowd by fighting the Oilers' Darnell Nurse, and Riley Sheahan in his first game with Pittsburgh after being acquired Saturday in a trade with Detroit, picked up the assists.
McDavid tied it 1-1 at 17:07 of the third when he lofted a shot from the left dot over the glove of Penguins goaltender Matt Murray.
Talbot made 42 saves for Edmonton (2-5-1). Murray stopped 29 shots.
It was only the third head-to-head meeting between Crosby and McDavid because of injuries and limited meetings between the clubs from opposite conferences. Crosby has not scored in the games, while McDavid has two goals and three assists, but Pittsburgh has won all three.
The Penguins (6-3-1) are 11-0-3 in the past 14 meetings, the longest point streak for either team in the history of their series.
The Crosby and McDavid lines were matched regularly, but through two periods Talbot and Murray were the driving forces as Pittsburgh took a 26-21 lead in shots.
Early in the second, Malkin and Kessel played give-and-go on a two-on-one before Talbot made a right toe save on Kessel.
Later in the second, with Edmonton on a power play, Murray reached back to make a slick stick save on a shot by Mark Letestu. On the same scramble, Pittsburgh defenseman Brian Dumoulin blocked a shot by McDavid from short range.
NOTES: Pittsburgh D Justin Schultz left late in the first period after taking an elbow to the chin C Leon Draisaitl. ... Pittsburgh lost G Antti Niemi, who was claimed by Florida. The Penguins placed Niemi on waivers Monday. ... Penguins G Casey DeSmith, recalled Monday from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, was G Matt Murray's backup, the first time he dressed for a NHL game. ... Draisaitl (eye/concussion) was activated from injured reserve and played after missing four games. ... Edmonton LW Drake Caggiula (undisclosed injury) was also activated from IR and played after missing five games.