Oilers Set Franchise Record with Overtime Victory Over Canadiens

The Edmonton Oilers set a new franchise record with 10 consecutive wins, with a 2-1 overtime triumph over the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Saturday (Jan. 13).

Defenceman Evan Bouchard scored on the power play at 2:01 of sudden death to give Edmonton its 10^th straight victory and a place in history. Leon Draisaitl also tallied for the Oilers, tying the game 1-1 with a goal early in the opening minute of the third period after Montreal had led for nearly 40 minutes on the strength of Cole Caufield’s power-play goal just 1:43 into the game.

Edmonton improves to 23-15-1 and remains in the second Wild Card position in the Western Conference standings, with 47 points in 39 games.

Memorable Night for McDavid

Connor McDavid set up Bouchard’s game-winner, earning an assist on the goal. It was the 907^th point of the Oilers captain’s career, which puts him in sole possession of fourth place on the Oilers’ all-time leaderboard. McDavid had come into the game tied with Hall-of-Fame winger Glenn Anderson, who had 906 points while playing with the Oilers from 1980 to 1991 and briefly in 1996.

Consider that the cherry on the sundae for McDavid, who turned 27 on Saturday, because there was really only one thing he wanted for his birthday: “10 straight wins,” he said while speaking with media prior to the game. “That would be my birthday wish.”

Oilers’ Power Play Delivers When Needed

Edmonton’s streak has progressed without a lot of contribution from its power play, which began Saturday having gone 4/23 (17.4%) over the first nine wins of the streak (in fact, the Oilers’ power play was a subpar 4/29 over the previous 11 games coming into Montreal). That trend continued at the Bell Centre, with Edmonton failing to convert on its first four power-play opportunities.

Late in the third period, during the game broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet, commentator Louie Debrusk shared his pre-game chat with Glen Gulutzan, the Oilers assistant coach who oversees Edmonton’s power play:

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“I had a pretty good conversation with Glen Gulutzan this morning. He said, ‘You know, we haven’t really needed the power-play in this nine-game stretch’ … but I think when it’s the time of the game when they really need one, it will come to fruition.’”

Those words proved prescient when Edmonton got its fifth power play of the game, with Montreal’s Mike Matheson taking a…