Leon Draisaitl recorded his first career four-goal game, and he and Connor McDavid finished with five points each as the visiting Edmonton Oilers broke open a tie game with five third-period goals en route to an 8-3 victory over the Nashville Predators on Monday night.
With the game tied 3-3 early in the third, Edmonton’s two stars took over to help the Oilers win their second straight and sweep the three-game season series from Nashville. McDavid finished with a goal and four assists.
McDavid made it 4-3 at 4:42 into the third period with a shot from the point through traffic and past Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne, who later was pulled after allowing all eight goals on 31 shots. Draisaitl, whose 40th goal came earlier in the contest, converted 35 seconds later as the Oilers applied more heat on Rinne.
Zack Kassian’s goal made it 6-3 at 7:03 into the final period, and two straight Draisaitl blasts put the game out of reach. Draisaitl’s 107 points lead the NHL and are a career high, surpassing his 105 from last season.
He has also recorded 12 goals in his past five games versus Nashville. McDavid, who had four assists, has 94 points this season, second in the league. Nashville’s Roman Josi recorded his career-high 16th goal and equalled his all-time best point total of 61.
The Predators, who have dropped two in a row, still own the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference, although they are one of three teams tied with 72 points. Edmonton, looking to catch first-place Vegas in the Pacific Division, opened the scoring 6:23 into the game thanks to Josh Archibald, who flipped the puck past Rinne.
Draisaitl scored No 40 when he struck a McDavid pass in off the body of Rinne with 29 seconds left in the opening period. At 2:14 into the second, Josi one-timed a blast from the top of the left circle past Edmonton goalie Mike Smith (27 saves) to make it 2-1.
Just 14 seconds later, Calle Jarnkrok equalized right in front of Smith. Edmonton regained the lead with 6:26 left in the second courtesy of Kailer Yamamoto (goal, assist).
The rookie winger shuffled in a backhand pass from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (three assists) for his 10th goal in 22 games since being called up from Bakersfield of the AHL.
Just 91 seconds after the Oilers went back on top, Nashville’s Nick Bonino muscled the puck past Smith to make it 3-3. Darnell Nurse also finished with three assists for Edmonton, and Archibald had a two-point night.
Avs edge Wings for
seventh straight win
Logan O’Connor scored the go-ahead goal in the second period, and the streaking Colorado Avalanche held on for a 2-1 victory over the host Detroit Red Wings on Monday night. The Avalanche have won seven straight and a franchise-record nine in a row on the road.
They trail St. Louis by just a point in the Central Division standings. Michael Hutchinson made 17 saves for Colorado, while Vladislav Namestnikov scored the team’s other goal. The Avs used the same formula to continue their hot streaks, winning a defensive struggle.
They haven’t scored more than three goals during the past seven games, and their past six triumphs have come by one goal. Anthony Mantha scored the only goal for the Red Wings, who are winless in their past six games (0-5-1). Jonathan Bernier made 25 saves.
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