Almost qualified
Hawks rally to beat Oilers, take 2-1 lead in best-of-5 series
EDMONTON, Alberta — Matthew Highmore tied the score with 5:47 left in the third period, and Jonathan Toews got his second of the game 4 1/2 minutes later to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night for a 2-1 lead in their qualifying round series.
“We stuck with it and I think it was a great team effort,” Toews said.
On the winner, Oilers defenseman Ethan Bear errantly tipped a Chicago point shot off Toews and past goalie Mikko Koskinen. It was Toews’ fourth goal of the series.
Olli Maatta also scored for the Blackhawks, who trailed by a goal entering the third period. Corey Crawford finished with 25 saves.
”(There were) some great contributions from all over our lineup,“Toews added. “A one-goal lead is a tough lead to hang onto for that long. In that situation we can always simplify our game and put pucks down in their zone and eventually things develop.”
Leon Draisaitl scored twice for Edmonton, and Connor McDavid got his fifth of the series to give the Oilers a 3-2 lead with 8 seconds left in the second period. Koskinen had 21 saves as Edmonton was pushed to the brink of elimination in the best-of-five series. Game 4 is Friday night.
“It’s obviously disappointing, no question,” Draisaitl said. “I think we have to be a little more disciplined. It kills the flow of the game with the penalties. We’ve got to make sure we win the next two.”
The score was tied three times and neither team led by more than one goal.