Oilers get big goals from McDavid and Draisaitl, score 4 in 3rd period to beat Devils 6-3
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Adam Erne scored in a span of 69 seconds early in the third period as the Edmonton Oilers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.
Ryan McLeod had two goals for Edmonton while playing against his older brother. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored, and Calvin Pickard made 23 saves for his second win of the season.
”Obviously, our third period was much better," Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. "I’m happy for the guys. We stuck with the game plan and it paid off.”
Dawson Mercer, Jonas Siegenthaler and Timo Meier scored for the Devils, who lost their third straight after winning eight of 10. Michael McLeod had two assists.
McDavid scored his 12th goal at 1:40 of the third to tie the game at 3. Draisaitl put Edmonton ahead with his 14th at 2:22 before Erne made it 5-3 with his first goal for the Oilers at 2:49.
“We found a way to win it,'' McDavid said. ”Sometimes you just need that bounce. That's what happened at a key stretch of the game."
McDavid, the reigning Hart Trophy winner as NHL MVP who had 64 goals and 153 points last season, leads the Oilers with 43 points this season.
"McDavid can create confusion. He does it with every team. He’s elusive,'' Devils coach Lindy Ruff said.
Sam Gagner and Mattias Ekholm each had two assists for the Oilers, who lost to the New York Islanders 3-1 on Tuesday to start a six-game trip.
Ryan McLeod scored 24 seconds into the game and completed the scoring with his fourth of the season at 9:04 of the third.
“I keep it fast and simple,'' said the younger McLeod, a second-round draft pick by Edmonton in 2018. ”I'm glad to get rewarded."
Meier put New Jersey ahead 3-2 with his sixth goal at 16:26 of the second as the Devils rallied from an early 2-0 deficit.
Meier hadn’t scored since Nov. 14 at Winnipeg, after which he missed seven games with a lower-body injury and had zero points in nine games since returning.
Edmonton jumped to a 2-0 lead less than six minutes in. Ryan McLeod’s early goal marked the seventh time this season the Oilers scored within the first two minutes. It was also the second time this season he scored within the first 30 seconds of a game.
Nugent-Hopkins made it 2-0 at 5:24 with his eighth. Ekholm and McDavid assisted.
Ruff then yanked goaltender Akira Schmid and replaced him with Vitek Vanecek. Schmid allowed two goals on six shots. Vanecek stopped all 18 shots he faced in the second period but unraveled in the third.
“When you’re breaking out and you turn the puck over, you’re not in good defensive position," Ruff said. "We didn’t win enough battles. We didn’t beat enough people to the net. And then when we had opportunities to shoot even in the third period, we didn’t want to shoot.”
The Devils were coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday after losing 5-1 to Anaheim on Sunday.
“Message is, buckle up. You just get out of it together,'' New Jersey captain Nico Hischier said. ”It’s frustrating. We’re all frustrated."
UP NEXT
Oilers: Play the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.
Devils: Host the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday to continue a five-game homestand.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
