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- Edmonton defeated Utah 4-3 in overtime, overcoming a 2-0 deficit.
- Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl scored crucial power-play goals for Edmonton.
- Utah's coach expressed frustration over penalties and missed calls affecting the game.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Hockey Club head coach André Tourigny stopped midsentence.
"I thought we were disciplined," he said. "I thought we — whatever, I don't want to get into the thing that we can't control. Disappointing."
Edmonton overcame an early 2-0 deficit to beat Utah 4-3 in overtime Friday at the Delta Center.
Edmonton's Ryan Nugent-Hopkins stole the puck from Utah's Matias Maccelli, skated in on a breakaway, and beat Utah goalie Karel Vejmelka to win the game for the Oilers.
But Edmonton can thank their power play for getting it to overtime.
The Oilers scored three times in the second period, two of which came on the man advantage.
First, Leon Draisaitl tied the game 2-2 with a power-play goal at 14:01. He was the beneficiary of an unlucky play for Utah when Connor McDavid's centering pass deflected to him off Ian Cole and set him up for a shot at an open net.
"There's no defense against a broken play there," Tourigny said. "If you look at their first power-play goal, it hit the skate of Coles and goes right to the tape of Draisaitl. How do you defend that?"
That was a part of the things Utah couldn't control after it put itself in a good position for its back-to-back victories since mid-October. The Club came out strong in the first period, netting two goals and generating multiple more chances.
Early in the first, Kevin Stenlund knocked the puck away from McDavid, starting a two-on-one rush that he finished by sending a centering pass to Alex Kerfoot, who scored his fourth goal of the season.
Logan Cooley extended the lead to 2-0 at 17:15 of the opening period when he knocked in a rebound from right in front of the net after Juuso Valimaki's shot from the point trickled into the crease.
It was a strong, if not dominant, first period.
Vejmelka made some exceptional point-blank saves and Utah outshot Edmonton 13-5 in the opening frame. One big stat: Utah didn't commit a penalty. It couldn't say the same thing in the second.
Draisaitl's power-play tally came after Utah defenseman Olli Määttä was called for an interference penalty the team took exception with, and the penalty ultimately led to an equalizer (a call that stung a little more later in the game when Jack McBain was clearly tripped but no penalty was called).
McDavid scored the second power-play goal at 16:22 of the second to put the Oilers ahead 3-2. The superstar forward went top shelf and beat Vejmelka.
While there was some frustration on some calls or no calls, the second period continued a troubling trend for Utah. That's when Utah has often seen leads go by the wayside.
"I don't know. It's just how the game goes, I guess," Stenlund said. "We'll work on it and get better."
Stenlund did say he thought the team played well overall, but it "got killed in the PK in the second."
Still, Utah had a chance to win at the end. Lawson Crouse ended a month-long cold streak when he scored early in the third to tie the game up. It was the associate captain's first goal (and first point) since Oct. 24.
Crouse's line was matched up with McDavid's for defensive purposes and they held the dangerous Oilers' line in check — as long as it was five-on-five. Utah won the full-strength minutes 3-1 on Friday.
"Five on five, they shut him down, and they get to be the big goal," Tourigny said. "Get us a point so there's a lot of positive."
