Oilers ease past Predators for 1st win

NASHVILLE -- Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman each had four points, and Jack Campbell made 43 saves for the Edmonton Oilers in their first win of the season, 6-1 against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and two assists, and Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist for the Oilers (1-2-0), who were outscored 12-4 in their first two games by the Vancouver Canucks.

Draisaitl scored two power-play goals, the 127th and 128th of his career, to pass Ryan Smyth and Glenn Anderson (126) for most in Oilers history.

“Obviously two incredible players that have done a lot for this organization,” Draisaitl said. “To be a part of that list is very special. This is obviously as much of a tribute to my teammates as it is to me. I’m well aware of how smart of hockey players I have around me. I’m very fortunate to be, I guess, on the receiving end of it.”

Tommy Novak scored for the Predators (1-3-0), who have lost their past two games. Kevin Lankinen replaced Juuse Saros in goal after the first period and made 17 saves. Saros finished with seven saves on 11 shots.

“We actually came out pretty good,” Nashville captain Roman Josi said. “I thought the first 10 minutes started well, played fast. We talk about not giving them power plays, I took a penalty there, which I shouldn’t take. They’re just so dangerous on the power play. They scored and I felt like we got a little bit away from our game after that.”

Draisaitl gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead at 8:11 of the first period on the power play from the slot.

“Obviously not the start we wanted to the season, but I thought tonight was another good step,” Draisaitl said. “Clean up a couple things for sure, but all in all, we played a solid game.”

Hyman pushed the lead to 2-0 at 13:38 of the first period on a pass from Nugent-Hopkins, who then scored for a 3-0 lead at 16:45 on a backhand pass across the crease from Warren Foegele.

McDavid extended the lead to 4-0 at 17:46 of the first after chipping the puck off the boards around Predators defenseman Ryan McDonagh, losing his balance and spinning on one knee to avoid Alexandre Carrier, then beating Saros on the blocker side.

Novak scored a power-play goal to cut it to 4-1 at 2:08 of the second period.

“I really liked our will and our effort,” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. “It just has to be a little smarter and a little bit of understanding in parts of the game where you really have to make sure we take care of business in certain areas and we didn’t. They made us pay.”

Draisaitl gave the Oilers a 5-1 lead at 7:53 of the second period with a wrist shot on the power play. It was his second goal of the game and 24th in 24 games against Nashville. He has 34 points (22 goals, 12 assists) in his past 12 games against the Predators.

“[Draisaitl] scores against every team, it’s not just Nashville,” Hyman said. “We were joking around with him, but obviously he’s had tremendous success against these guys for whatever reason. He’s a pretty good player.”

Foegele scored at 15:27 of the second period for the 6-1 final.

Defenseman Mattias Ekholm, who played 719 games during 12 seasons with the Predators, played here for the first time since he was traded Feb. 28. Ekholm finished with three shots on goal in 19:13 of ice time.

“It’s always difficult getting traded or signing somewhere else, especially where you really enjoy the city,” Campbell said. “I know it was a big day for [Ekholm], a lot of nerves I’m sure just from dealing with it with my past. So, seeing him come out and play the game that he always plays for us, which is just a steady, big-time presence on the back end but also jumping up and making the offensive plays he makes, every single guy in the room was playing hard for him tonight.”

NOTES: Draisaitl had four points for the 23rd time in his career, tying Nicklas Backstrom for fifth-most among active players behind Sidney Crosby (37), McDavid (32), Alex Ovechkin (32) and Evgeni Malkin (29). … It was the Oilers' 73rd six-goal game since 2015-16, tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for most among all teams over that span. … Edmonton is 10-0-2 in its past 12 games against Nashville, its longest active point streak against one opponent. ... Predators defenseman Luke Schenn missed his third consecutive game because of a lower-body injury.