Draisaitl breaks late tie as Oilers finish off Kraken 3-1 at Rogers Place

A fast start, then a long deadlock

Edmonton moved in front early when Owen Michaels scored at 2:51 of the first period, finishing a play set up by Alex Formenton. It was a useful opening for the Oilers in a game that would spend a long stretch on a knife edge.

Seattle found its answer in the second. Bobby McMann tied it at 9:06 on a wrist shot, with Jordan Eberle and Chandler Stephenson drawing the assists. The Kraken went 1-for-2 on the power play, and that equalizer stood as their only conversion of the night.

From there, the middle of the game belonged to the goaltenders and to a scoreboard that refused to move. Devon Levi turned aside 19 of 20 shots for Edmonton, while Philipp Grubauer made 22 saves for Seattle and kept the Oilers from adding to their early lead for more than 54 minutes.

The stars arrived when the window opened

The 1-1 tie lasted deep into the third before Edmonton's top end finally settled it. Draisaitl scored at 17:33, taking assists from McDavid and Ryan Shea and giving the Oilers a 2-1 lead with only 2:27 remaining. In a game short on finish, that one changed everything.

McDavid then supplied the final touch at 18:55, scoring Edmonton's third goal after already helping create Draisaitl's winner. His line for the night — one goal, one assist and four shots — matched the rhythm of the Oilers' close: patient for most of the evening, then decisive at the exact moment they needed it.

Draisaitl's own numbers reinforced how involved he was. He led Edmonton with five shots, logged 24:08 of ice time and won eight of nine faceoffs. Michaels, the early scorer, added three shots and split 18 draws, while Vasily Podkolzin chipped in an assist and six hits as Edmonton leaned into a more forceful finish than the scoreline had suggested through two periods.

Our take: Edmonton's edge was small, but the finishing edge was real

This was not a runaway. Edmonton outshot Seattle 25-20, won the faceoff battle 31-26 and outhit the Kraken 31-18, but none of those margins was large enough to make the outcome feel inevitable. The difference was that the Oilers got the last two goals from Draisaitl and McDavid after spending most of the night searching for a second one.

There is still an obvious item for Edmonton to clean up. The Oilers went 0-for-3 on the power play, so their best work came at even strength and late-game execution rather than on special teams. They also finished with 16 giveaways, the same total as Seattle, which kept the game from tilting further in their favour.

For the Kraken, the frustration is that a disciplined defensive effort in several areas still ended without a point. Seattle blocked 17 shots, got McMann's tying goal, and received support from Eberle and Stephenson, but 20 shots left little room for error against a goalie posting a .950 save percentage. In a 1-1 game that survived until the final 2:27, the margin was always likely to be one clean finish, and Edmonton found two of them.

Scoring moments

1. 1st · 2:51

   Owen Michaels Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: Alex Formenton (2)

2. 2nd · 9:06

   Bobby McMann Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Jordan Eberle (1), Chandler Stephenson (1)

3. 3rd · 17:33

   Leon Draisaitl Goal (3) Snap Shot, assists: Connor McDavid (7), Ryan Shea (2)

4. 3rd · 18:55

   Connor McDavid Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: Vasily Podkolzin (2)