Leon Draisaitl has never been shy to have big games on his birthday.
Before his 29th on Sunday, he had played in five birthday games, scoring four goals and eight points, helping the Edmonton Oilers go 3-2. So it was only fitting that when he and his teammates his Detroit Rock City that he would play a big part in the game.
It wouldn’t start out that way, however. The Oilers were sluggish out of the gate having last played Thursday and travelling east, while the Red Wings had their legs playing in their second-half of a back-to-back.
J.T. Compher would get Detroit on the board just 3:28 into the game, as they outshot the Oilers 13-5 in the opening frame. Edmonton wasn’t willing to go out easy though. Red Wings forward Joe Veleno caught Oilers forward Derek Ryan with an awkward hit in which the latter’s head hit the boards, and while Corey Perry would challenge Veleno to a fight, it wasn’t accepted… until the next shift.
A flurry of uppercuts and a strong right from Perry would give him the edge, and it helped shift the momentum in the Oilers’ favour.
Draisaitl would score his first 8:46 into the second period, throwing a puck from the goal line to the front of the net as it bounced off Red Wings defenceman Olli Maata and in. Andrew Copp would respond for Detroit 40 seconds later, but that period firmly belonged to Edmonton, outshooting them 16-7.
This game was the perfect representation of what you often see in situations like these, with one team having travelled and another having played the night before. The Oilers found their legs as the game went on, as the Red Wings would feel the lactic acid build up in theirs. Evan Bouchard would take advantage of it, firing a “mini” Bouch-bomb from the point past Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot.
Edmonton would carry a man advantage into overtime, and 18 seconds in, Draisaitl would find himself on the backdoor of the Red Wings net, tipping in a Mattias Ekholm pass for the win.
It was an important two points for the Oilers, who now have worked their way back to .500 with a 4-4-1 record — the same as seven other NHL clubs. Edmonton’s patience has slowly begun to pay off, and it will continue, as their shooting percentage still sits at 6.8 percent on the year, still well below the 10.6 percent they shot last year.
The numbers will continue to improve, and Edmonton will hope they aren’t the ones whose lactic acid builds up tonight, set to square off with one of those other .500 teams, the Columbus Blue Jackets. with a 5:00 p.m. MST puckdrop.
