By Canadian Press

Kane scores three as Oilers pound Predators 7-4

Nov 1, 2022 | 8:59 PM

EDMONTON — Leon Draisaitl had a goal and four assists as the Edmonton Oilers blasted the Nashville Predators 7-4 on Tuesday.

Evander Kane had a hat trick, Connor McDavid recorded two goals and two assists, and Derek Ryan also scored for the Oilers (7-3-0) who have won five games in a row.

Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg and Nino Niederreiter scored for the Predators (3-6-1) who have lost two in a row and seven of their last eight.

It wasn’t the start that goalie Jack Campbell and the Oilers were looking for as Nashville scored just 34 seconds into the game, as a pass deflected off a skate and on net for a stick save, but the rebound went straight to Ekholm for the easy goal.

However, Edmonton would bounce back big-time, scoring three goals in just over seven minutes.

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Edmonton pulled even 4:14 into the opening period as Draisaitl extended his point streak to five games with a stellar long pass to Kane, who proceeded to deke out Predators goaltender Juuse Saros.

Three minutes later Draisaitl sent a pass from behind the net to Kane, who fired a puck home through traffic for his second goal of the contest and fourth of the season.

Just 26 seconds after that, McDavid rifled a shot through Saros’ legs for his league-leading 10th goal of the NHL season.

The Oilers made it 4-1 with five minutes left in the first period when Tyson Barrie sent a nice backhand pass into the paint for Ryan to tip into the net.

Edmonton added a power-play goal 7:26 into the second period as McDavid picked the top corner after a Draisaitl faceoff win for his second of the game and 11th goal in just 10 games.

Nashville got a power-play goal of its own midway through the middle frame as Johansen deftly tipped a Roman Josi shot past Campbell for his fourth of the year.

The Predators made it interesting five minutes into the third on a nice three-way passing play that culminated in a one-timer goal by Forsberg to make it 5-3.

The Oilers responded with another power-play goal to restore their three-goal edge as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins threaded the needle to Draisaitl, who sniped his fifth of the season glove-side on Saros.

Nashville remained a pest with three minutes to play as they got another power-play goal on a deflection by Niederreiter.

The Predators pulled Saros, which allowed Draisaitl to feed Kane for his fifth career hat trick. McDavid also got an assist on the play giving him a league-leading 22 points in 10 games. Draisaitl is second with 21 points.

NOTES

The Oilers now have an 8-0-1 record in their last nine games against Nashville, coming on the heels of losing 13 straight to the Predators. A big reason for that turnaround has been Draisaitl, who has an incredible 18 goals in those nine games … McDavid has been on fire to start the season, earning himself the NHL’s First Star of the Week honours on Monday. He scored his 250th career goal on Tuesday and recorded his fifth multi-point game of the current campaign … Predator Matt Duchene notched his 400th career assist … Nashville’s power play has been less than impressive to start the year, coming into the game with just three goals in 36 chances with the man advantage, although they did get two against the Oilers … The only listed player out with injury for the game was Predator Mark Borowiecki (upper body).

UP NEXT

Both teams return to action on Thursday. The Predators play the second game of a five-game trip in Calgary against the Flames. The Oilers welcome the New Jersey Devils to town as the second game of a three-game homestand.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2022.

Shane Jones, The Canadian Press