Rogers Place in Edmonton is the home of the Oilers. It’s also the home of two memorable overtime game-winning goals for Artturi Lehkonen, who scored with just one second remaining in the OT period on Saturday to give the Avalanche a 3-2 victory over the Oilers in arguably the most entertaining game of the year. Lehkonen once scored in OT to send the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup Final in 2022.

Nearly two years later, Lehkonen made his way toward the Oiler’s goal just as Cale Makar sent a long pass to Nathan MacKinnon in the corner. With just three seconds remaining, MacKinnon sent a backhanded no-look pass toward the crease where Lehkonen was able to put the game away before the buzzer sounded.

The two sides are loaded with superstars, led by MacKinnon on Colorado’s side and Connor McDavid for the Oilers. This was the first of three meetings between the teams in the last month of the regular season and it gave fans everything they could ask for: Electric high-speed offensive opportunities up and down the ice, goals from the supporting cast, big saves from the goaltenders, and of course, overtime.

McDavid failed to record a point, but MacKinnon, who entered the matchup riding a 14-game point streak, secured a point on his marvelous pass to Lehkonen to keep his point streak alive at 15 games.

Both teams entered the matchup fighting for positioning atop their respective divisions with matching 7-2-1 records in their last 10. For the Avs, the victory increases their winning streak to six games. They’re 3-0-0 on their four-game road trip ahead of Tuesday’s finale in St. Louis.

Defenseman Sean Walker scored the opening goal for Colorado in the second period — his first since being acquired ahead of the trade deadline. And quickly added his second with the Avs later on in regulation, knotting things up at 2-2 with just 5:20 remaining in the third.

The two sides began with a bit of a defensive matchup with neither side allowing the other to gain ground in the offensive zone. Colorado had just seven shots in the first period compared to Edmonton’s 10, though the Avs also had 19 shot attempts blocked. Things shifted from stingy to open-ice back-and-forth offensive action in the second period, with both sides getting several good looks. Both Alexandar Gergiev and Edmonton’s Stuart Skinner held their own in goal. Georgiev’s regulation highlight was a desperation pad save on McDavid where he also kept his positioning to stop the rebound. For Skinner, his best save came on a penalty shot for Jonathan Drouin, who was given the opportunity after getting hauled down on the breakaway.

Neither team had a goal until just past the midway point when Lehkonen sprung Walker in on a 2-on-1. The defenseman, known for speed and ability to join the rush, elected to shoot and scored his first of two. Walker leads the league in goals off the rush among defensemen, with six. It stood as the only tally heading into the third period.

The Oilers thought they had the game-tying goal at 2:05 of the third, but it was called back after review for a distinct kicking motion. They didn’t waste much time tying things up soon after. Warren Foegele beat Georgiev at 5:46 to end the shutout bid. The Oilers eventually took the lead in the later stages of the third, getting a hard-working goal in the crease from Sam Carrick, who was acquired from the Anaheim Ducks ahead of the trade deadline. Carrick’s ninth of the year and first with the Oilers gave the home team its first lead of the night with just 8:12 remaining.

But Colorado would not quit. The Avs began to press on the very next shift and had multiple opportunities before Walker found the back of the net again. This time, he pinched from the blue line and one-timed a pass from center Casey Mittelstadt in the slot to knot it up at 2-2.

Both teams exchanged opportunities in OT before the eventual winner from Lehkonen. The highlight reel save came from Georgiev as he robbed Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on a breakaway. Georgiev made 32 saves for his league-leading 35th win of the year.

Lehkonen’s 12th of the season helped Colorado continue to climb in the Central Division standings. The Avs are tied with the Dallas Stars atop the division (91 points) with a game in hand. They’re also two points ahead of the Winnipeg Jets, who have two games in hand on Colorado. The Western Conference is also up for grabs after Vancouver fell in regulation to the Capitals. The Canucks are just one point ahead of the Avs for the top seed in the west.