EDMONTON — Corey Perry is pushing 40 years old and continues to be an NHL playoff X factor.
A player loved by teammates and loathed by opponents for 21 seasons was at his greasy, abrasive finest Sunday when the Edmonton Oilers came from behind in a 4-3 overtime win over the Los Angeles Kings.
The Oilers held serve at home by winning the third and fourth games of the best-of-seven affair. The series squared at 2-2 shifts to Tuesday's Game 5 in Los Angeles.
Perry's 219 career playoff games ranks 12th all-time in the NHL. Barring injury, he'll get to at least 221 to tie for 10th with Brian Trottier.
"There's no better time to play, April, May, and June," Perry said. "It's fun man. I love it. I wouldn't change it for anything.
"I've been fortunate to be on some deep runs and good teams and this is why we play the game."
The Oilers trailed 2-0 on Sunday when Perry halved the deficit at 4:11 of the second period with his second goal of the series.
His was a classic Perry contribution. He got in goaltender Darcy Kuemper's face, and with sneaky fast hands, backhanded his own rebound out of the air by the goalie's helmet and into the crease to knock into the het,
Perry's built a career out of getting under players' skins and testing the limits of officials around the opposing creases, while providing screens for his teammates to shoot and scoring chances for himself.
"It's playoffs. The ice starts to shrink and everything gets magnified and if you don't win those battles, it goes the other way," Perry said. "You take pride in that and that's the way I've always played."
He was in no hurry to get off Kuemper's head when Perry landed on the goalie in the second period
Perry, who turns 40 on May 16, was again haunting the Kings' crease when Leon Draisaitl scored the overtime winner.
After Perry was upended by Kings defenceman Drew Doughty, which drew the ire of Rogers Place, Perry dug furiously at the puck that squirted out to Draisaitl.
"He's nearly 40 years old and he has an affect every single game," Draisaitl said.
"He's one of the smartest hockey players that I've ever seen. He's so unique in the way he thinks and plays the game that I honestly feel like he could play till he's 50 just because of his brain. We'll see if the boots, you know, keep up there, but, yeah, he is just a gamer.
"He just reads the play before it happens and he knows exactly how to manoeuvre himself in the situations to be successful. He just understands what he needs to do to put himself in good situations, but I think what with him doesn't get noticed, he puts other people in good situations.
"He puts Connor (McDavid) and me in good situations because he demands a lot of attention through what he's done in his career and what he is continuing to do."
Perry, from Peterborough, Ont., is a two-time Olympic gold medallist (2010, 2014) with Canada and a Stanley Cup winner with Anaheim in 2007.
His 56 playoff goals are tied for 44th all-time and his 130 playoff points ranks 49th.
"He's been doing it forever," said Oilers captain Connor McDavid. "Just never stops. Wins battles. Wins another battle there in overtime in front. Just rangy, great hands, smart. Can't say enough good things about him."
Perry's 19 goals in the regular season was the most since he scored that many for Tampa Bay in 2022.
"I think he'd probably get angry at me for saying he's exceeded expectations," Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said. "Nineteen goals in the regular season, playing mostly fourth line, very little power play on the first units.
"It was a really good season for a guy and he's just continued to get even better throughout the playoffs."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 28, 2025.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
