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After being outscored 15-3 during a disastrous 0-3 start on home ice, the Edmonton Oilers upgraded their top lineup Tuesday night, took a deep breath and tried again to stop their bleeding.

But for nearly 60 minutes they were still on the wrong end of another red wave.

They were down 2-0 early, their nuclear front line couldn't cope, they were drowning in penalties, they were losing video reviews and getting goals off the board, and with four minutes left in regulation time they were down 3-2 Danger of crawling even deeper into the dirt.

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Then the least effective players on the ice came to life when it mattered most: Evan Bouchard scored on a pass from Connor McDavid to make it 3-3 with 3:42 left in regulation, and Leon Draisaitl, who had just been on the bench in the third period, scored a goal in overtime to give the Oilers their long-awaited first win of the season.

“It was a nice pass from Connor, and I was lucky to be able to pass it in,” said Draisaitl, who sat on the bench for a few shifts after conceding a selfish crosscheck late in the second period.

“Obviously we lost a few points here early on, so it was nice to come back and win. It’s always nice to get the first guy out of the way and hopefully create some momentum, some confidence in our group and just go from there.”

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Edmonton's top line was nowhere to be seen most of the night, shooting blanks and going 0-for-4 on the power play, but no one had a bigger comeback than Draisaitl.

The Oilers had just conceded the score to 3-2 late in the second period when Draisaitl lost his composure and passed the ball to a Flyers forward, leaving the Oilers outnumbered early in the third period. It was his second bad penalty in as many games, so head coach Kris Knoblauch sat him down and delivered the message. It's a move the previous coach was afraid of, but Knoblauch sets clear parameters for what's acceptable.

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And Draisaitl replied: From the pine to the string, so to speak.

“I think some of the penalties, like mine, are unnecessary,” Draisaitl said. “It’s up to us, it’s up to me. I think our hitmen did a really good job for the most part tonight.”

The Oilers open their season at home 3-1, exactly where they were after four games last season.

Some thoughts:

• If there was a dark cloud casting a gloomy shadow over the Oilers this season, it was never more evident than in the first period. It was one of those beginnings where anything that could go wrong could go wrong.

They took a sub for too many men and allowed a power play goal 45 seconds later. They fought for goalkeeper interference and lost, finding themselves outnumbered for the second time in the first five minutes. They picked up another minor for slashing and found themselves trailing 2-0 when the PK let them down again. Bouchard scored from the point, but the goal went off the board because Zach Hyman interfered with the goalie and they conceded a shorthanded two-on-one on their only power play of the first period.

It was hard.

• The Oilers still had plenty of weaknesses, but after starting 0-3 and falling behind 2-0 after 20 minutes, if ever there was a game that could have ended in disaster, this was it. It's a good sign to be able to catch up with a game that eluded them.

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“I think through these games there are opportunities to respond and I think we did that tonight,” said Adam Henrique, who scored his first goal of the season in the win.

“We conceded two goals the other night and another one tonight, but we responded well. We continued to respond and find a way to get back into the swing of things. We capitalized on a great late goal and a great goal in overtime for our big win.”

• Stuart Skinner made some monster saves in the second half as the Flyers capitalized on poor defense to produce quality performances. It could easily have been 4:2 or 5:2. He had been leaky in his first two appearances, but in this game he gave his team a chance.

“You can kind of see him building his swagger,” said Oilers winger Connor Brown, who also scored in the win. “When he gets going, there’s no one better.”

• After a very shaky start to the season, conceding two power-play goals in the first period, Edmonton's penalty kill elevated matters as the game wore on. They converted three penalties in the second period, including a long two-man lead. It was a pretty strong recovery considering how badly they had fallen to the wolves. Edmonton received seven minor penalties on the night.

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• On a team woefully lacking in players willing to step up and do something when momentum goes the wrong way or someone takes liberties with a teammate, Troy Stecher (5-10, 184) The gloves dropped and went after Sean Couturier (6-4, 210) after the Flyers forward hit Skinner with the shoulder midway through the third period.

“He had a few inches lead, but he hung in there and got some good hits, and overall he played really well,” Brown said. “When you see teammates standing there and going shot for shot with the guys, the lengths the guys are willing to go to get a lead and win hockey games… that was a huge boost for us in the third period.”

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