Vasily Podkolzin scored the game-winning goal with 1:09 left as the Edmonton Oilers overcame a two-goal deficit to defeat the Montreal Canadiens 6-5 at Rogers Place on Thursday. The Oilers scored three times in the third period, including two power-play goals, to secure the victory. Montreal's Cole Caufield and Alex Newhook each recorded two goals in the high-scoring affair.
The Edmonton Oilers trailed 5-3 entering the third period but mounted a comeback against the Montreal Canadiens on October 23, 2025, at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
Montreal opened the scoring at 7:28 of the first period when Alex Newhook tapped in a rebound for a 1-0 lead. David Tomasek tied it 1-1 at 16:12 with his first NHL goal, assisted by Podkolzin. In the second period, Adam Henrique put Edmonton ahead 2-1 at 10:37, followed by Andrew Mangiapane's goal at 13:28 to make it 3-1.
The Canadiens responded quickly, scoring three goals in 1:52 late in the second. Josh Anderson cut the deficit to 3-2 at 16:57, Caufield tied it at 3-3 just 1:03 later, and Caufield scored again 49 seconds after that for a 4-3 lead. Newhook added his second goal at 2:10 of the third to extend Montreal's advantage to 5-3.
Edmonton then rallied with power-play goals from Leon Draisaitl at 11:19 and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins at 12:17 to tie the game at 5-5. Podkolzin broke the tie at 18:51 with a backhand past Sam Montembeault, assisted by Darnell Nurse, for the 6-5 final.
Connor McDavid recorded three assists for Edmonton, while Jake Walman and Nurse each had two. For Montreal, Lane Hutson and Oliver Kapanen each had two assists. Calvin Pickard made 22 saves for the win, and Montembeault stopped 23 shots.
"Down by two for the Oilers is nothing, I guess," Podkolzin said. "Finding a way to get two points was good."
Montreal coach Martin St. Louis noted, "The result is disappointing, but I'm happy with the way we played tonight. We played 60 minutes, but we just didn't win."
The Oilers improved to 4-3-1, while the Canadiens fell to 6-3-0 after winning six of their previous seven games. McDavid became the third-fastest player to reach 200 multi-assist games in NHL history.