EDMONTON _ The Edmonton Oilers and Rangers have the same number of points, and yet while the Rangers are well out of the playoff race in the Eastern Conference, the Oilers are making a strong push to get into the postseason in the West. They were helped greatly Monday when Leon Draisaitl's goal 35 seconds into overtime gave them a 3-2 win at Rogers Place.
Playing in the first game of a four-game road trip, the Rangers had tied the game at 2, on Brett Howden's first goal since Nov. 12 _ he'd gone goalless in his last 35 games played _ at 1:33 of the third period. And goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, playing for the first time since the 1-0 loss in Dallas last Tuesday, made any number of great saves to get the game to overtime. Before that happened, though, the Rangers had to kill a tripping penalty to Brady Skjei with 2:57 left in regulation. Edmonton's Ryan Nugent-Hopkins hit the crossbar on the power play, with 2:34 left in regulation.
After watching Henrik Lundqvist play the previous two games, Georgiev started in goal for the Rangers, his first action since he made 31 saves in a 1-0 loss at Dallas last week. It was Georgiev's ninth start in the last 16 games, as the Rangers continue to evaluate his potential as an NHL goaltender.
