Barrie scores twice to help Oilers defeat Panthers

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Tyson Barrie scored twice to help the Edmonton Oilers defeat the Florida Panthers 4-2 at FLA Live Arena on Saturday.

"I thought Tyson really responded to being challenged," Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said of the defenseman, who was minus-2 in a 7-2 loss at the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. "I didn't think this last game was his necessarily his best. We talked about it. And I saw someone have a positive impact on the game tonight, not just because he scored two goals either. I think that he made some good plays with the puck. He was competitive. He helped our team win."
Stuart Skinner made 40 saves for the Oilers (9-7-0), who had lost four of five. Connor McDavid had an assist to extend his point streak to 10 games (22 points; 10 goals, 12 assists). He leads the NHL with 32 points (15 goals, 17 assists).
Edmonton finished its four-game trip 2-2-0 and is 5-2-0 on the road this season.
"As I sit back and reflect on this game just immediately afterwards, I think of the type of game we played today," Woodcroft said. "It wasn't always pretty, we made mistakes and whatnot, but there was a mindset that I believe we bring with us on the road. … We played in a way that I think is conducive to win games in the National Hockey League. Now we have to bring that mindset with us when we get back home in front of the best fans in the world."

Sam Bennett scored twice for the Panthers (8-6-1), who had won two in a row. Spencer Knight made 27 saves.
"We thought the offensive side of our game was good and we didn't give up a whole lot," Florida coach Paul Maurice said. "It's a frustrating loss because we prepared, played hard. … You're left wanting, you felt maybe the effort deserved a little more."
Barrie's second goal gave Edmonton a 2-1 lead on the power play at 6:53 of the third period. He scored on a slap shot from the high slot four seconds into a holding the stick penalty on Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who returned after missing 11 games with a lower-body injury.
Warren Foegele made it 3-1 at 15:07 before Bennett scored his second of the game to cut it to 3-2 at 15:58, finishing a give-and-go with Colin White.
"Finding my game little bit, feeling better than I did at the beginning of the season," said Bennett, who has four goals in the past three games after having one in the first 12. "It is always nice to start building that confidence."

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored into an empty net at 18:34 for the 4-2 final.
Barrie gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead at 11:49 of the second period with a one-timer from the point.
"The first one, it's just a one-timer, you're trying to hit it," Barrie said. "The second one you know you have a little bit of good draw and it kind of pops to you, so you want to take maybe a split second to kind of you know, try to pick a spot. I was lucky they both went in."
Bennett tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal on a rebound at 2:42 of the third.
"It's big for our team," Barrie said of the win. "We've kind of been up and down, up and down. We want to find some consistency in our game. So, you know, after a game in Carolina, where we maybe feel like we didn't have our best, it was nice to come back and have a good performance."
NOTES: McDavid became the fifth Edmonton player with an assist streak of at least 10 games, joining Wayne Gretzky (11 times; longest 17 games in 1983-84, Paul Coffey (four times; longest 17 games in 1985-86), Jari Kurri (15 games in 1983-84) and Glenn Anderson (10 games in 1982-83). … Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl had an assist to extend his point streak to 11 games (20 points; seven goals, 13 assists). … Florida forward Matthew Tkachuk was minus-2 with five shots on goal in 20:48 of ice time after serving a two-game suspension for high-sticking Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick on Nov. 5. … Ekblad led the Panthers with 23:42 of ice time. He had three shots on goal, two blocked shots and was minus-1.