Bouchard scores tiebreaking goal in third period as Oilers beat Flames 4-2

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Evan Bouchard scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period, and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Calgary Flames 4-2 on Saturday night.

Leon Draisaitl, Connor Brown and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored for Edmonton, which is 5-1-1 in its last seven games. Calvin Pickard stopped 33 shots to improve to 12-6-0.

“We played well in the third period and our power play came up with a huge goal at the end,” said Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch. “(Pickard) was outstanding. I thought he made huge saves, especially late in the game with the goalie pulled, game on the line, he came up big.”

Draisaitl reached 40 goals for the third straight season and fifth time in his career. That puts him third behind Wayne Gretzky (nine) and Jari Kurri (seven).

The Oilers climbed within three points of Vancouver for first place in the Pacific Division. They have a game in hand on the Canucks, who lost 6-3 at Los Angeles.

Yegor Sharangovich and Nazem Kadri scored for Calgary, which has lost eight of its last nine. Andrei Kuzmenko had two assists to extend his point streak to five games (four goals, five assists). Jacob Markstrom had 23 saves.

“We battled hard, I thought we deserved better tonight,” said Flames left winger Jonathan Huberdeau. “It just shows that they have a good power play and they took advantage of that and we came up short. But I thought we were the better team tonight.”

Calgary tied it the score 2-2 at 7:13 of the third with its second power-play goal. Kuzmenko sent a pass to Sharangovich, who fired a shot that was deflected in by Kadri.

However, Edmonton got its second power-play goal less than 3 1/2 minutes to regain the lead for good. Bouchard took a pass from Nugent-Hopkins and notched his 17th goal on a blast from the blue line with 9:24 remaining.

Connor McDavid also had an assist, giving him two on the night and a career-high 99 on the season. It’s the most assists in an NHL season since Gretzky had 122 in 1990-91. McDavid is on the cusp of becoming just the fourth player to have 100 assists in a season. He’d join Gretzky (11 times), Mario Lemieux (one) and Bobby Orr (one).

Nugent-Hopkins sealed it with an empty-netter with 43 seconds remaining.

Draisaitl opened the scoring on a power play with 16 seconds left in the first period as he fired a one-time off a pass from Nugent-Hopkins under the crossbar.

Edmonton doubled its advantage 3:13 into the second. After failing to generate a shot on goal on a 2-on-1, the puck popped out to Brown who was trailing the play and fired in his fourth. Brown, who didn’t score in his first 54 games, has four goals in his last 11.

Just 44 seconds later and the Flames on a power play, Sharangovich took a pass from Kuzmenko and leaned into a slap shot, picking the top corner for his 30th of the season.

“It’s a little bit of a tough loss. We could win this game. We had an opportunity to score more goals,” said Sharangovich.

Sharangovich, acquired from New Jersey in the offseason, is the sixth player to score 30 goals in his first year with the Flames. He joins Kent Nilsson (40 in 1979-80), Mike Cammalleri (39 in 2008-09), Lanny McDonald (34 in 1981-82), Bob MacMillan (31 in 1977-78) and Hakan Loob (30 in 1983-84).

UP NEXT

Oilers: Host Vegas on Wednesday night to open a four-game homestand.

Flames: At San Jose on Tuesday night to open a three-game trip.

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Edmonton Oilers forward Warren Foegele (37) has his shot deflected by Calgary Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom (25) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 6, 2024, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) steals the puck from Calgary Flames forward A.J. Greer (18) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 6, 2024, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers goalie Calvin Pickard swats away a Calgary Flames shot during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 6, 2024, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers goalie Calvin Pickard (30) kicks away a shot from Calgary Flames forward Mikael Backlund (11) as forward Zach Hyman (18) watches during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 6, 2024, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse (25) and forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) check Calgary Flames forward Nazem Kadri (91) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 6, 2024, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers forward Connor Brown (28) celebrates his goal against the Calgary Flames with forward Mattias Janmark (13) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 6, 2024, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane (91) tries to score on Calgary Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom (25) as forward Warren Foegele (37) watches during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 6, 2024, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) holds the jersey of Calgary Flames forward Mikael Backlund (11) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 6, 2024, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard (2) celebrates his goal against the Calgary Flames with forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 6, 2024, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A driver died after a vehicle crashed into a gate at the White House Saturday night, but the fatal collision is being investigated “only as a traffic crash” and there was no threat to the president’s residence, law enforcement authorities said.

The male driver, who was not immediately identified, was found dead in the vehicle following the crash shortly before 10:30 p.m. at an outer perimeter gate of the White House complex, the U.S. Secret Service said in a statement.

The Washington Metropolitan Police Department said the vehicle crashed into a security barrier at the intersection of 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

“At this time, the incident is being investigated only as a traffic crash by MPD’s Major Crash Investigations Unit," the metro police said in a statement posted on social media.

Security protocols were implemented but there was no threat to the White House, the Secret Service said.

The Secret Service will continue to investigate the matter, while turning over the fatal crash portion of the investigation to the metro police, the agency said.

FILE - The White House is visible through the fence at the North Lawn in Washington, on June 16, 2016. A driver died Saturday night, May 4, 2024 after crashing a vehicle into a gate at the White House, authorities said. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)