Draisaitl rescues Oilers in shootout with Canadiens
MONTREAL -- Leon Draisaitl scored the shootout winner to lift the Edmonton Oilers to a 1-0 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday afternoon at the Bell Centre.
Al Montoya stopped 32 shots for the Canadiens (30-16-8) while Cam Talbot made 22 saves for Edmonton (29-18-8), who snapped a three-game losing streak.
Both sides had opportunities to get on the board first.
The Oilers had a chance right off the hop when Jordan Eberle tipped a shot that landed right by Montoya's pad. But no Oilers were within reach of the loose puck and the Canadiens cleared it out of harm's way.
Montreal got its first chance a few minutes later when Torrey Mitchell fed Alexei Emelin for a one-timer from the point that beat Talbot but hit the crossbar.
With time ticking down in the first, Montoya sprawled in his crease to hold off Connor McDavid.
Shea Weber slipped in the Edmonton zone in the second period, opening the door for a 3-on-1 for the visitors. But Andrei Markov got his stick in the way, denying the Oilers of a shot on goal.
Late in the frame, David Desharnais got his stick on a Nathan Beaulieu shot from the goal line but Talbot extended his leg to keep the puck out of his net.
Radulov nearly got the Canadiens on the board midway through the third when he tipped a Phillip Danault feed that ultimately went high.
Montoya's strong game continued late in the third with back-to-back saves on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and McDavid in close.
McDavid had a great chance to end it in overtime when he took advantage of a slow line change by Montreal and broke in on Montoya, who denied him with a pad save.
NOTES: Oilers C Connor McDavid played in his 100th NHL game. ... Canadiens C Tomas Plekanec played in his 897th career game, moving past Patrice Brisebois for 12th place on the franchise's all-time games played list. ... Montreal scratched C/W Brian Flynn and D Greg Pateryn while C David Desharnais drew back in after sitting out Saturday's game as a healthy scratch. ... Edmonton D Eric Gryba suited up for the first time in eight games while D Jordan Oesterle made his season debut after being called up from the AHL's Bakersfield Condors. ... The Oilers scratched C Matt Hendricks, D Kris Russell and D Griffin Reinhart.