EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) -- The significance of the Oilers' double-overtime victory over the Detroit Red Wings wasn't lost on Jarrett Stoll.
"It's big for everything," Stoll said. "We needed that win, and we needed it bad."
Stoll's goal 8:44 into the second extra period gave Edmonton a 4-3 victory over the top-seeded Red Wings and a 2-1 lead Tuesday night in their first-round playoff series. The goal ended the Oilers' third-longest overtime game and first home playoff game in three years.
Stoll fired a shot past Manny Legace after the Detroit goalie made a nice save on Sergei Samsonov to send the frantic crowd home happy.
"I thought I had the overtime winner in my glove," Legace said. "It must have just popped off my thumb."
The Oilers will look to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference series at home Thursday night. Detroit came into the 1 vs. 8 matchup with the NHL's best regular-season record at 58-16-8.
After Edmonton blew a 3-1 lead in regulation Tuesday, it hardly seemed likely the Oilers would pull this one out at the end.
The Red Wings were celebrating almost 15 minutes into the first overtime when they thought Jason Williams won the game with a low shot off the wing.
However, video replay showed that the puck slid under the side of the goal after Oilers netminder Dwayne Roloson bumped into it and caused it to lift up slightly.
"It is tough when you think you win," said Detroit's Kirk Maltby, who scored at 2:39 of the second overtime in the opening game of the series. "We were hoping if we got off the ice soon enough, they wouldn't review it."
Roloson finished with 18 saves in the first overtime, and 44 in the game.
"This is just great for the team," Roloson said. "Emotionally, it was a very draining game."
Jaroslav Spacek, Ryan Smyth and Raffi Torres scored in regulation for the Oilers.
Henrik Zetterberg had two goals, and Mathieu Schneider added another for Detroit.
Spacek opened the scoring 4:15 into the first period when he wired a shot past Legace, taking the noise level at the already loud arena to a new high.
The Oilers responded with continued pressure until Smyth took a penalty for goaltender interference, and Zetterberg made it 1-1 at 12:05 on the power play.
It didn't last long. Rookie Brad Winchester, who scored the winner in Game 2, worked the puck behind the net to Smyth and watched as he made it 2-1 with a quick wraparound goal.
Edmonton looked as though it had the game comfortably in hand when it took a 3-1 lead to the intermission thanks to Torres' goal early in the period.
But the Oilers came out tentatively in the final 20 minutes, and the veteran Red Wings made them pay.
Zetterberg made it 3-2 at 11:52 with Edmonton's Marc-Andre Bergeron in the penalty box. Williams faked a shot, stepped around a defender and sent a perfect cross-ice pass over to Zetterberg, who chipped it into the empty goal.
Schneider tied it just 18 seconds later by hammering a low slap shot past Roloson after Steve Yzerman won a faceoff back to him.
"We played a so-so first two periods," Legace said. "And we couldn't buy a goal in overtime."
Notes: Red Wings D Jiri Fischer, who collapsed on the bench during a November game due to a heart condition, made his first road trip since he was forced to stop playing. ... Edmonton LW Ethan Moreau missed a third straight game because of a groin injury. ... The previous home playoff game in Edmonton was April 19, 2003.