Oilers vs. Kraken: Leon Draisaitl Cashes a Lucky Bounce Late as Connor McDavid Reaches Nine Points

Ryan Shea's puck along the left-wing wall looked harmless. Then Connor McDavid's knee redirected it into the middle of the ice, Leon Draisaitl was waiting in front of the Seattle net, and Philipp Grubauer was lunging across as the puck went in with 2:27 left in regulation. A game that had been stuck at 1-1 for nearly half an hour was suddenly over.

McDavid added an empty-netter 82 seconds later, and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Seattle Kraken 3-1 on Saturday night at Rogers Place. The Oilers are 2-0-1, and McDavid now has nine points through three games, because of course he does.

A Fast Start, a Fight and a Long Stalemate

Edmonton grabbed the lead early. At 2:51 of the first, Owen Michaels collected a quick Alex Formenton feed on the wall, drove into the left circle and picked the top corner on the short side. It was Michaels' second goal in two games after he scored his first NHL goal in Thursday's 9-7 win at Vancouver.

The rest of the first period was a penalty parade. Seattle took three minors in the opening 15 minutes, Ryan Lindgren and Trent Frederic dropped the gloves at 10:14, and Grubauer and Max Jones exchanged slashes late in the period. Edmonton went 0-for-3 on the power play and never made the Kraken truly pay for the chaos.

Seattle drew even in the second. Connor Murphy's slashing minor gave the Kraken a power play, and Bobby McMann converted at 9:06, ripping a shot from the left circle over Devon Levi's blocker after Jordan Eberle found him from behind the goal line. From there, the game settled into a grind. Neither team scored for more than 28 minutes of game time.

The Turning Point: Levi's Save, Then a Lucky Bounce

The game hinged on two sequences. At 7:38 of the third, Eberle got a point-blank chance that Levi appeared to stop at the goal line. It went to review, and the call stood: no goal. Eberle admitted he was not sure himself. "He made a great save, I wasn't sure if it was in or not. Sometimes there's good goalies in this League," he said.

Then came the bounce. Draisaitl's third goal of the season was not a highlight-reel snipe, but it was exactly the kind of goal that finds players who live around the net. McMann summed up the Seattle side of it honestly. "I think we deserved a better result," he said.

McDavid finished it with an empty-netter at 18:55, set up by Vasily Podkolzin, and Mattias Ekholm and Brandon Montour were both handed misconducts at that same mark.

Levi Steadies the Crease, Draisaitl Owns Seattle

Levi was the quiet difference. He stopped 19 of 20 shots for a .950 save percentage, and coach Mike Babcock was clearly relieved to see it. "We got good goaltending tonight," Babcock said. "You have to give him credit because we haven't had that. That was really positive tonight." After a 6-5 overtime loss and a 9-7 track meet of a win to open the season, Edmonton's 1-1 slog through two periods felt like a different sport, and Babcock had the line of the night: "We didn't give up a touchdown."

Draisaitl played 24:08 and finished plus-2. According to NHL.com, he now has 35 points against the Kraken, the most by any player against the franchise, and he has recorded a point in 15 of his 16 career games against Seattle. The team also noted that he has scored a game-winning goal against 29 different franchises, a total topped among active players only by Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos, Sebastian Aho and Kyle Palmieri.

McDavid logged 26:17 with a goal, an assist and a plus-2. Podkolzin was a wrecking ball with six hits to go with his assist, and Michaels keeps making a case to stick around. "I'm playing with some great linemates and all of the guys have been great to me and helping me out. It's been a lot of fun," Michaels said.

For Seattle, Grubauer was excellent, stopping 23 of the 25 shots he faced for a .920 save percentage. "We got a great, solid effort from 'Grubie,'" Seattle coach Lane Lambert said, though he was less thrilled with the finish. "It's unfortunate that we don't come out of here with more than what we have, but we have to find ways to come out of buildings like this when the score is tied late," Lambert added. McMann, Eberle and Chandler Stephenson combined for the lone goal, and the Kraken blocked 18 shots to Edmonton's eight.

Stats That Matter

• 26-20: Edmonton's shot advantage. Not a blowout, but enough.
• 31-18: Edmonton's edge in hits. The Oilers were physical all night.
• 0-for-3 vs. 1-for-2: Seattle won the special-teams battle and still lost the game.
• 9: McDavid's points through three games, per the AP.
• 82 seconds: The gap between Draisaitl's winner and McDavid's empty-netter.

What It Means

The Oilers improve to 2-0-1 with five points after splitting a wild home-and-home with Vancouver to open the season. The AP noted that Edmonton has gone 15-4-1 against the Kraken, including wins in eight of nine meetings at home. Next up is a trip to Anaheim on Wednesday for what the AP called a first-round rematch.

Seattle falls to 1-1-0 after a 6-1 opening win at Calgary on Thursday. The Kraken do not have time to dwell on it: their home opener against those same Flames comes Sunday, the second half of a back-to-back. Eberle took the long view. "It's a marathon, it's not a sprint so we need to keep building here and get some confidence and keep rolling," he said.

Release the Kraken, Then Cage It

Seattle hung with Edmonton for 57 minutes, which is no small thing in that building. But when the Oilers' two best players needed only 82 seconds to slam the door, it was a reminder that against Edmonton, close is just another word for almost.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press; postgame quotes and team notes as reported by NHL.com.