Oilers beat Devils in OT in Taylor Hall's return to Edmonton (Jan 12, 2017)

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) Leon Draisaitl spoiled Taylor Hall's return to Edmonton.

Draisaitl scored in overtime and had two assists and the Edmonton Oilers beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 on Thursday night to snap a two-game losing streak.

Hall, Edmonton's 2010 first-overall pick, was traded to New Jersey in the offseason for defenseman Adam Larsson. Hall was welcomed with a video tribute at Rogers Place amid a standing ovation.

He was upset that the Devils let a third-period lead slip away.

''Any time you have a lead in the third period, you've got to lock that up and find a way to (finish it),'' Hall said. ''I feel like we sit on leads sometimes and that's not the way to go, especially against a team like that. There's a way to sit on leads, there's a smart way, and we didn't do that. It's definitely tough to take.''

Larsson helped the Oilers beat his former team.

''I'm not going to lie, it feels pretty good,'' Larsson said. ''It's a huge point for us. We want to get on the winning side now after two performances we weren't really happy with.''

Connor McDavid earned his second assist on the winner, setting up Draisaitl for a one-timer on a 2-on-1 1:50 into the extra period.

''With him you always have to be ready,'' Draisaitl said about the overtime pass from McDavid. ''He can make things happen out of nothing. What a nice pass. It was pretty easy to tap that one in. It's a huge win. It's basically playoff time for us right now. We need every single point.''

Andrej Sekera and Patrick Maroon also scored for the Oilers.

Travis Zajac and Steven Santini scored for New Jersey. The Devils have lost four straight.

The Devils opened the scoring with 1:54 left in the first period when Kyle Palmieri sent a backhand pass through the crease and Zajac whacked his ninth of the season past goalie Cam Talbot.

Edmonton tied it 16 seconds into the second period. Draisaitl dropped the puck back to Sekera and he beat goalie Cory Schneider with a long wrist shot.

The Oilers came close to taking the lead eight minutes into the second, but Jordan Eberle hit the post on a 2-on-1. New Jersey got a break to go up 2-1 with 51 seconds left in the second when Hall's shot hit Santini up high and caromed into the net to count as his first NHL goal.

Edmonton tied it again with 7:24 remaining in the third. Maroon tucked the puck past a sprawled-out Schneider during a scrum for his 17th of the season.

NOTES: It was the second and final meeting between the teams this season. Edmonton won 2-1 in overtime in New Jersey on Jan. 7. .... Devils center Blake Coleman and defenseman Karl Stollery made their NHL debuts.

UP NEXT

Devils: At Calgary on Friday night.

Flames: Host Calgary on Saturday night.