Oilers squeeze past Devils 2-1 in OT
NEWARK, N.J. -- Mark Letestu's power play goal 3:59 into overtime Saturday night lifted the Edmonton Oilers to a come-from-behind 2-1 road victory over the New Jersey Devils.
Letestu's game-winner came on a booming left-wing slap shot with New Jersey's Travis Zajac sitting in the penalty box after slashing Edmonton's Connor McDavid.
The matchup was the first between the teams since last summer's blockbuster trade that saw Edmonton deal left winger Taylor Hall to New Jersey in exchange for defenseman Adam Larsson.
Hall seemed energized to be playing against the team that made him the first overall selection in the 2010 NHL Draft. He created several prime scoring chances against Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot, the best of which came 11:11 into the second period when Hall set up P.A. Parenteau with a slick feed, forcing Talbot to make a difficult lunging save with his right pad.
Larsson, the fourth overall pick by New Jersey in 2011, received a warm ovation from the Prudential Center crowd after a video tribute on the scoreboard during the game's first television timeout.
One night after his worst start of the season, Devils goalie Cory Schneider rebounded with one of his best, stopping 41 of 43 shots, including all 30 he faced in the first two periods.
Schneider's outstanding performance was in stark contrast to what took place 24 hours earlier when he allowed three goals on five shots and was pulled less than 15 minutes into the Devils' 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Miles Wood put the Devils ahead 1-0 with his fifth goal of the season 9:44 into the first period. After taking a pass at center ice from Zajac, Wood turned on the jets and blew past defenseman Eric Gryba for a clean breakaway that he finished with a backhander between Talbot's pads.
Edmonton pulled even at 3:33 of the third period when Matthew Benning scored his first NHL goal.
Already missing two injured defenseman, John Moore and team captain Andy Greene, the Devils were forced to play most of the game with only five defensemen when rookie Yohann Auvitu left after playing only one shift with an undisclosed injury.
NOTES: The Devils placed C Jacob Josefson on injured reserve (illness) before the game and recalled D Yohann Auvitu from Albany of the American Hockey League. Auvitu, who had two goals and two assists in 24 games with New Jersey earlier in the season, was in the lineup Saturday. He replaced D Seth Helgeson, who was a healthy scratch. ... New Jersey also played without D Andy Greene (upper body) and RW Beau Bennett, who was scratched. ... Oilers D Brandon Davidson (illness) remained sidelined and RW Jesse Pulijujarvi was a healthy scratch. ... Edmonton G Cam Talbot made his league-leading 37th start of the season.