Bouchard scores in OT as Oilers slip past Stars 4-3
By The Associated Press on February 17, 2024.
DALLAS (AP) – Evan Bouchard scored his second goal 30 seconds into overtime, and seven seconds into a power play, to lift the Edmonton Oilers to a 4-3 win over the Dallas Stars on Saturday. Corey Perry had a goal and an assist and Derek Ryan also scored for the Oilers, who are 3-3-0 following a 16-game winning streak that fell one short of tying the league record. They’re 6-1 following regulation this season, 4-1 in overtime. It was the second overtime winner this season within five weeks for Bouchard, who said he wasn’t sure the puck would go in when he shot after skating down the slot. Edmonton played 4-on-3 following a hooking penalty on Wyatt Johnston. “I saw their D man (Ryan Suter) put a screen for me,” Bouchard said. “I figured I’d put it on the net.” The defenceman’s 14 goals and 50 points this season are career highs. The goal was the Oilers’ first on four power plays, Dallas having killed their opponents’ previous 10 penalties through four games. “They’re an opportunistic team,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “If you take penalties, they’re going to make you pay.” Edmonton’s Connor McDavid had an assist, giving him 13 in the last five games. Calvin Pickard made 24 saves for his sixth straight win in spot starts since Dec. 12. Matt Duchene had a goal and two assists while Mason Marchment and Thomas Harley had a goal and an assist each for the Stars, who had a three-game winning streak snapped. Jake Oettinger made 20 saves and had a personal seven-game winning streak snapped. Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl had two assists. A Stars power-play goal 1:08 into the second period was the first of four goals during the period’s first seven minutes leaving the score tied 2-2 following a scoreless first period. Marchment’s one-timer off a rebound was followed by Bouchard shooting one over Oettinger’s left shoulder and into the far corner less than a minute later. Harley put Dallas back ahead at 4:47 converting a cross-ice pass from Duchene, but Perry, a former Star who joined the Oilers in late January, deflected McDavid’s shot from the left circle at 6:55. The Stars killed 1:43 of 5-on-3 hockey later in the period, during which Draisaitl hit a post. Dallas defenceman Jani Hakanpaa left the game with an upper-body injury after blocking a shot during the penalty kill. The period ended 3-3 after both teams scored during a Stars power play in the closing minutes. Ryan sent a shot under Oettinger’s right arm for a short-handed goal at 18:42, and Duchene tucked in the puck at the post from beside the net 20 seconds later after Pickard made the initial save. The Stars scored two power-play goals for the second straight game, their first such back-to-back production this season. Duchene has four consecutive multi-point games. He has 22 goals and 55 points in 54 games after compiling 22 and 56 in 71 games last season for Nashville. Marchment has a career-long nine-game points streak (four goals, 13 points). UP NEXT Oilers: Visit Arizona on Monday to finish a three-game road trip. Stars: At Boston on Monday to start a four-game Eastern Conference road trip. — AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl 24-23
