Klefbom ends goal drought in OT as Oilers beat Coyotes
Oscar Klefbom scored his first goal in 34 games and the Edmonton Oilers regrouped after blowing a two-goal, third-period lead to beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-3 in overtime in NHL action Monday night at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
Klefbom was set up by Connor McDavid for a chance and buried the shot just 50 seconds into the extra period to cap a see-saw tilt.
Arizona's Jason Demers opened the scoring 3:29 into the affair when he wristed a long shot that ricocheted off the skate of Oilers defenseman Kris Russell and past Edmonton goalie Cam Talbot.
Edmonton responded with three goals in the first period. Jujhar Khaira made it 1-1 with a shorthanded marker at 8:01. Ryan Strome pounced on a loose puck at the Oilers blue line, and though Arizona goalie Darcy Kuemper stopped Strome's shot on the ensuing 2-on-1 rush, Khaira tucked home the rebound.
Milan Lucic snapped a 29-game goal drought, scoring for the first time since Dec. 23 to make it 2-1 at 13:21. Lucic was sprung by a long stretch pass from Leon Draisaitl and from the left circle fired a rocket of a slapper and showed his relief after.
Jesse Puljujarvi potted Edmonton's third goal of the first period at the 17:04 mark. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins stole the puck from a Coyotes defender before feeding Puljujarvi in the high slot, and he promptly ripped a top-corner shot for his 11th goal of the season.
The Coyotes may sit last in the league but made a game of it, starting with Christian Dvorak's goal at 11:31 of the third period pull within one. Richard Panik took advantage of a bad turnover in the Edmonton zone and fed his teammate in front of the net, and Dvorak made no mistake from the close-quarters opportunity.
Niklas Hjalmarsson then potted his first goal in 14 months to make it a 3-3 game with 4:39 left in regulation. The visitors were buzzing before Hjalmarsson found the mark with a shot from the slot during a scramble.
Talbot made 32 saves for the Oilers to snap a three-game losing skid, while Kuemper stopped 32 shots for Arizona.
--Field Level Media
