Hyman stays hot, Oilers end Senators’ 6-game winning streak

EDMONTON -- Zach Hyman scored in his sixth straight game, and the Edmonton Oilers ended the Ottawa Senators’ six-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory at Rogers Place on Sunday.

Viktor Arvidsson had a goal and an assist, and Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl each had an assist to extend his point streak to nine games for the Oilers (21-11-2), who have won three in a row and eight of their past nine. Stuart Skinner made 20 saves for Edmonton, which was coming off a 3-2 overtime win against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.

“I think we’re in a good spot,” Skinner said. “We’re finding ways to win games. We don’t want to lose two in a row, and we’ve been doing a pretty good job of that lately. I think the way we’ve been playing in all ends of the ice has been pretty consistent.

“Heading into the (holiday) break, we’re going to relax a bit and kick the legs up so we can feel rested coming into the rest of the season.”

Nick Cousins scored for the Senators (18-14-2), who had won eight of nine, including a 5-4 overtime victory at the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.

“It’s frustrating, especially the way we’ve been playing,” said Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot, whose team wrapped up a four-game road trip through the Pacific Division (3-1-0). “We expected better out of ourselves tonight, but a hard back-to-back facing this team.

“Obviously, they’re a very talented team, so you’ve got to give them credit. And at the end of the day, we had a really good road trip, something that we can build off.”

Linus Ullmark made six saves on seven shots before leaving with an upper-body injury following the end of the first period. Leevi Merilainen stopped 12 of 14 shots in relief.

“Upper body, his back tightened up, so I thought it was best if he came out,” Senators coach Travis Green said. “I don’t think it affected our group; we didn’t give up a lot the rest of the way. I don’t know if we gave up more than 13 shots 5-on-5. So, we had a good checking game and obviously Edmonton did too.

“A tough game tonight, tight checking both ways. We came up a little short.”

Arvidsson, who was promoted to the top line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins out with illness, put Edmonton ahead 1-0 at 14:26 of the first after McDavid won a battle for the puck along the boards against Travis Hamonic. McDavid sent a centering pass out of the left corner that Arvidsson put past Ullmark’s glove.

“I just tried to hit it as hard as I could into the net,” said Arvidsson, who recorded his first points in three games since returning from a 15-game absence. “I tried to be ready when I came back. I’ve been hurt a lot in the last two years. I think I’m ready and I feel ready, so it feels good.

“The team was playing good when I was out of the lineup, and I am just trying to come in and contribute as much as everybody else.”

Cousins tied it 1-1 just 25 seconds into the second period when he stripped the puck from Evan Bouchard at the Oilers blue line for a breakaway and shot it past Skinner’s blocker.

Hyman gave Edmonton a 2-1 lead on the power play at 14:05, retrieving a rebound at the side of the net off a shot by Arvidsson and putting it past Merilainen’s outstretched left pad. It was his seventh goal during the six-game streak, which matched an NHL career best.

Since returning from a five-game absence on Dec. 5, Hyman has recorded 11 points (10 goals, one assist) in nine games. He had eight points (three goals, five assists) in his first 20 games this season.

“As long as you stick with your process and you’re playing the same way, if you’re playing well and getting looks, if you continue to stick with it and if your team has the confidence to stick with you -- which obviously the coaching staff did -- it was just a 20-game kind of blip,” Hyman said. “I thought I was playing well, I just wasn’t scoring. That’s what happens, you just have to keep playing.”

Adam Henrique made it 3-1 at 1:38 of the third period, taking a cross-crease feed from Mattias Janmark after the Senators failed to clear the puck from their zone. Janmark slid the puck across into the slot, where Henrique scored high stick side on Merilainen.

NOTES: The Senators didn’t register their first shot on goal in the third period until 11:24. ... Draisaitl pushed his point streak to nine games (seven goals, 13 assists), and recorded his 14th career 20-point month, tying Paul Coffey and Mark Messier for third most in Oilers history behind Wayne Gretzky (48), McDavid (23) and Jari Jurri (20). ... Draisaitl (14) passed Nikita Kucherov (13) for third-most 20-point calendar months among active players, behind only McDavid (23) and Sidney Crosby (19). ... McDavid extended his point streak to nine games (three goals, 15 assists) for the 16th time in his career, tying Crosby for the most among active players. ... Hyman’s goal was his 10th in eight games and extended his point streak to six games (seven goals, one assist). … Oilers forward Derek Ryan played his 600th NHL game.