EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Connor McDavid scored in overtime to give the Edmonton Oilers an important victory in the Western Conference playoff race, 4-3 over the Washington Capitals 4-3 on Wednesday night.
McDavid scored on a 2-on-1 with Leon Draisaitl 3:27 into the 3-on-3 OT. He also assisted on Kailer Yamomoto's goal to help snap the Oilers' losing streak at three.
Journeyman Brad Malone had a goal and an assist for his first NHL points in more than six years.
Malone picked up his first assist since Feb. 28, 2016, when he assisted on Cody Ceci's goal in the second period. When he scored to put Edmonton ahead midway through the third period, it was the 32-year-old's first goal since Dec. 3, 2015.
McDavid played a big, setting up Yamomoto for Edmonton's first power-play goal in three games. The Oilers won for just the third time in nine games to move within one point of the final playoff spot in the West.
Despite a stellar 37-save performance by Ilya Samsonov and a goal and an assist from Nicklas Backstrom, Washington's winning streak ended at three. T.J. Oshie scored twice, including the tying goal with 1.8 seconds left in regulation.
Alex Ovechkin was kept off the board with the chance to pass Jaromir Jagr and move into third place on the NHL career goals list. Ovechkin was booed by a small faction of fans in one of the biggest Ukrainian centers in North America.
The Capitals hold the second wild-card spot in the East and are a pretty safe bet to make the postseason barring a collapse and an improbable run by the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Oilers are in the middle of a pack of teams fighting to get in.
Asked before the game what his team needs down the stretch to make it, Oilers general manager Ken Holland deadpanned, “Wins.” At this point, it doesn't matter how.
Against the Capitals, it was the power play that has struggled for three months, a defenseman maligned for his play in previous stops, a mostly career minor leaguer skating in his 200th game in the NHL and their best player.
The Oilers' power play, which led the league for the first two months of the season, was 18 of its previous 102 before McDavid made a near perfect play to beat Samsonov. Ceci scored later in the second by collecting a loose puck and shoveling it in. After T.J. Oshie scored on the power play to tie it for Washington, Malone came up big with just his 14th career goal.
Mikko Koskinen made 29 saves in net for the Oilers, who have needed better goaltending in big stretches this season. With offense lacking at times, the combination of a solid showing by Koskinen scoring from McDavid down the lineup, they were able to end their latest skid.
The Oilers spoiled the Capitals' celebration of Backstrom reaching the 1,000-point milestone with an assist on Oshie's first goal. The respected Swedish center and Ovechkin also played in their 1,000th regular-season game together Tuesday at Calgary.
UP NEXT
Capitals: Finish their three-game Western Canada trip Friday night at Vancouver.
Oilers: Host Tampa Bay on Saturday night in the second game of a five-game homestand.
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Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno
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