Montreal Canadiens wrangle Edmonton Oilers in overtime

Eric Staal scored the overtime winner in his first game with the Montreal Canadiens to give them a 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers Monday night.

The Canadiens outplayed the Oilers in the first, outshooting them 15-5. However, the Oilers took the lead at 19:39 of the period when Devin Shore beat Montreal goaltender Carey Price in tight.

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The Oilers struck in the final minute again the second. Darnell Nurse fired a slapper past Price on the power play for his 13th goal of the season. It came at 19:49 of the frame.

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Josh Anderson put the Habs on the board 1:45 into the third, knifing home a pass from Jeff Petry. Montreal forward Tomas Tatar tied less than four minutes later, rifling a shot over Edmonton netminder Mike Smith’s glove.

With 57.5 seconds left in overtime, Staal came down the right wing and snapped a shot past Smith on the blocker side.

The Oilers (23-14-2) will play in Ottawa Wednesday and Thursday and then in Calgary on Saturday. The team’s schedule was adjusted Monday afternoon because of the Vancouver Canucks’ COVID-19 situation. The second game in Ottawa was originally set for Friday, while Saturday was originally an off day.