Montreal, QC (SportsNetwork.com) - Anton Lander scored the game-winning goal 1:47 into overtime as the Edmonton Oilers rallied to defeat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Thursday.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins finished with two goals, including the game-tying score with 25 seconds left in regulation. Matt Hendricks also scored and Viktor Fasth made 23 saves for the Oilers, who won their third straight game against the Canadiens.
Christian Thomas notched his first NHL goal for the Canadiens. Alex Galchenyuk and Max Pacioretty also lit the lamp, while Dustin Tokarski allowed all four goals on 38 shots as Montreal's three-game winning streak came to an end.
"We were lucky to get out with one point," Montreal head coach Michel Therrien said. "I am very disappointed with how we played. It was a terrible game for us."
After Fasth was pulled in favor of an extra attacker with a minute to play, Oscar Klefbom's shot was blocked in front, but Nugent-Hopkins sent the game into overtime on a turnaround wrister that tied it at 3-3.
In the extra session, Edmonton's Nail Yakupov missed wide with a shot from the right circle. Klefbom gathered the puck and sent it to Lander, who tapped it into the net from the top of the crease past a downed Tokarski for the win.
"We responded well after being down," said Lander. "I went to the net and it became an overtime winner for us."
Montreal struck first, as Thomas took a loose puck at the Edmonton blue line, skated up to the left circle and beat Fasth over the shoulder on a quick release with 3:35 left in the first period.
"I had a good feeling it was going to come soon," Thomas said of his first goal. "I thought my first one was going to be off my skate, but it's definitely nice to get one like that."
P.K. Subban navigated through the neutral zone and sent a cross-ice feed across the slot to Galchenyuk, who one-timed a shot into the net for a 2-0 lead just 1:06 into the middle frame.
Just under three minutes later, the Oilers cut the deficit in half on Hendricks' deflection of Jeff Petry's point shot.
Nugent-Hopkins crashed the net and knocked in Tokarski's mishandled rebound to make it 2-2 game with 5:51 left in the second.
In the third, Pacioretty raced into the offensive zone and snapped a shot past Fasth's glove from the right circle to give Montreal the lead 9:17 into the final stanza.
Moments later, Ryan Hamilton almost tied the game when his shot off a 2-on-1 had Tokarski beat, but it rang off the post.
Game Notes
Edmonton is 7-2-2 in its last 11 games against Montreal ... Canadiens forward Jacob De La Rose registered his first career point with an assist on Thomas' milestone marker ... Subban and Klefbom each tallied two assists for their respective teams ... The Canadiens host the Maple Leafs on Saturday ... Edmonton travels to Ottawa on Saturday.
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