Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl (29) carries the puck around Montreal Canadiens defensemen Jeff Petrey (26) during the second period at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Canada on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015.Perry Nelson
Leon Draisaitl had a pair of goals in his first game of the season – including the winner – as the Edmonton Oilers came from behind for a 4-3 victory over the league-leading Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Draisaitl was called up earlier in the day from Bakersfield of the American Hockey League and missed the morning skate.
Brandon Davidson and Benoit Pouliot also scored for the Oilers (4-7-0), who erased a 3-0 first-period deficit to end a three-game skid.
Brendan Gallagher, Torrey Mitchell and Alex Galchenyuk scored for the Canadiens (9-2-0), who have lost two in a row after starting the season with nine straight victories.
Montreal started the scoring midway through the opening period with a power-play goal, as Gallagher tipped a P.K. Subban shot past Oilers goalie Cam Talbot for his fifth of the season.
The Canadiens made it 2-0 with three minutes to play in the first as Mitchell stripped a puck from defender Oscar Klefbom and beat Talbot high to the glove side, also his fifth goal of the campaign.
A minute later the Habs took a three-goal advantage as a big bounce off the boards came to Andrei Markov in the corner and he made a perfect pass through the crease to Galchenyuk for the goal.
Edmonton finally got one past Montreal goalie Carey Price with 52 seconds left in the second period as a chip shot by Draisaitl on the power play hit the netminder and was ruled over the line despite being gloved out of the air by Alexi Emelin.
The Oilers almost scored early in the third, but Subban incredibly knocked a Pouliout shot that was heading into the net out of the air and sent it down the ice.
Edmonton made it 3-2 six minutes into the period as a Davidson point blast deflected off defender Jeff Petry and into the Montreal net.
The Oilers tied the game 3-3 midway through the third as Connor McDavid sprung Pouliot for a breakaway and he scored his third of the year.
Edmonton completed the comeback with 1:02 remaining as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins fed it out front to Draisaitl for his second of the contest.
Calgary is the next opponent for both teams, as the Canadiens will travel to face the Flames on Friday. Calgary then visits Edmonton on Saturday.
Notes – Price has actually struggled with the Oilers in recent years, coming into the game with a 1-6 record against Edmonton with a 3.71 GAA and an .857 save percentage Habs winger Alexander Semin was a healthy scratch for the first time this season The Oilers announced that defenceman Justin Schultz will miss the next 2-4 weeks with a shoulder injury.