Leon Draisaitl had a goal and two assists to help the Edmonton Oilers defeat the Nashville Predators 5-1 on Thursday.
The Oilers (5-5-1) prevailed in the absence of their captain. Connor McDavid has an ankle injury and is expected to miss two or three weeks of action. He tripped over Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski’s stick in his first appearance Monday and fell heavily into the railing.
Team Canada will conclude its four-game road trip against the Calgary Flames on Sunday.
Viktor Arvidsson and Zach Hyman scored their first goals of the season. In both cases these were highly anticipated goals. Arvidsson redirected Draisaitl’s pass to open the scoring after 37 seconds, the fourth-fastest goal this season.
The latter made it 3-1 on a breakaway in the second period after a fall by Michael McCarron at the blue line. He added more early in the third by taunting defender Brady Skjei before beating Juuse Saros.
Hyman also put the finishing touches on the escape at 12:46 of the third period.
Corey Perry was the other scorer for the Oilers, who bounced back from their bitter 6-1 loss to the Blue Jackets.
Filip Forsberg responded for the Predators, who lost their second straight game. They have little success at home, as evidenced by their 2-5 record.
Calvin Pickard stopped 26 shots in the win while his counterpart Juuse Saros made 24 saves.
