Oilers 4, Canadiens 3
EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Montreal Canadiens scored three times in the first. And then the Edmonton Oilers and Leon Draisaitl went to work.
Called up from the AHL's Bakersfield Condors just hours before the game, the center scored twice -- including the winner with 1:02 left in regulation -- to spur the Oilers to a 4-3 win over the Habs on Thursday.
Draisaitl ripped home the winner from the slot, capping a three-goal third period for an Oilers team that had six regulars out of the lineup.
Draisaitl scored near the end of the second period, and defenseman Brandon Davidson walked into a shot at 6:15 of the third before left winger Benoit Pouliot tied it at 3 on a breakaway at 10:43.
It was all Habs in the first period, as they took a 3-0 lead before the opening intermission.
Pouliot put his team in a hole with a foolish offensive-zone holding penalty, and the Canadiens took the lead on the ensuing man advantage. After a series of tape-to-tape passes got the Oilers running around in their own zone, right winger Brendan Gallagher was left alone in front of the goal. He tipped home Subban's point shot.
The Canadiens then scored twice in a 55-second span late in the first.
Center Torrey Mitchell made it 2-0 after he snatched up a giveaway from Oilers defenseman Oscar Klefbom and ripped a wrist shot into the roof of the net. Then, center Alex Galchenyuk arrived on the back post to tap home defenseman Andrei Markov's picture-perfect pass from the boards to make it 3-0.
Late in the second, the Oilers got life when Draisaitl bounced a puck off Canadiens goaltender Carey Price's shoulder and over the line to make it 3-1. Video review was needed to confirm the call.
NOTES: Canadiens D Jeff Petry returned to Edmonton for the first time since being sent by the Oilers to Montreal at the 2014-15 trade deadline. Petry played 295 games with the Oilers. ... Injuries forced the Oilers to scramble; the team called up D Joey LaLeggia and C Tyler Pitlick from the AHL's Bakersfield Condors on Wednesday, and C Leon Draisaitl got the call on Thursday. RW Jordan Eberle (shoulder), D Griffin Reinhart (undisclosed), D Jeff Schultz (back), LW Lauri Korpikoski (leg), LW Rob Klinkhammer (leg) and LW Matt Hendricks (foot) were out for Edmonton. ... Eberle was placed on long-term injured reserve on Thursday, and Schultz is expected to be out 2-4 weeks. ... Montreal scratched RW Alexander Semin, D Jarred Tinordi and D Greg Pateryn. ... The Oilers scratched LW Luke Gazdic.