Krushelnyski made his NHL debut on October 24, 1981, against the Montreal Canadiens.[4] During the 1984–85 offseason, the Bruins traded Krushelnyski to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Ken Linseman.[5] While playing left wing on the Oilers top line with Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri, Krushelnyski finished fourth on the team in scoring as he recorded a new career-high 43 goals and 88 points.[6]
He is best remembered for scoring an overtime goal as a member of the Kings that eliminated the heavily favoured and defending Stanley Cup champion Calgary Flames from the 1990 Stanley Cup playoffs in the sixth game of the Smythe Division Semifinal (leading in part to his former team, the Oilers, winning another Stanley Cup at the end of that play-off season).[8][9] Krushelnyski chipped the puck over Flames goaltender Mike Vernon at 3:14 of the second overtime while lying flat on the ice after being knocked down during a goalmouth scramble. CBCHockey Night in Canada play-by-play announcer Chris Cuthbert called this goal in a dramatic fashion:
Granato shot – Krushelnyski to the net, and Vernon again made the save. Back it comes Duchesne shooting, Vernon kicks that out; rebound – THEY SCORE!!!!
Post-retirement
After retiring, Krushelnyski was an assistant coach with Detroit when they won the Stanley Cup in 1997,[10] but left after winning his fourth championship to become head coach of the Central Hockey League's Fort Worth Fire, a post he held until the team folded in 1999.