GAME RECAP: Oilers 5, Canadiens 3

EDMONTON, AB - With a depleted Edmonton Oilers forward group, the Dynamic Duo answered the call.
Connor McDavid scored twice and added a pair of assists, while Leon Draisaitl added four points of his own as Edmonton downed the Canadiens 5-3 on Saturday night.
Draisaitl's lone goal was his 17th goal of the season, helping the German tie a career high five-game goal-scoring streak.The 27-year-old joined his captain as the only two players to top the 40-point mark so far this season with his four-point effort.
Darnell Nurse notched his fourth goal of the season with 5.0 seconds remaining in the second period, tapping in a Leon Draisaitl pass off the rush before the buzzer went. The defenceman's goal would hold up as the game-winner, with McDavid's breakaway tally the only offence to come after the Nurse marker.
"I thought our third period was our probably our best period," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said after the game. "I know we scored some goals in the second period, important goals, but I thought our best, most mature, most professional period was probably that third period where were able to lock them down."
Stuart Skinner picked up his seventh victory on the season, turning away 30-of-33 Canadiens shots on the evening.
The Oilers will continue their four-game home stand on Monday night when they welcome Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals to Rogers Place.

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS

GAME DAY
Photo Gallery
Highlights
Look Back at the In-Game Blog
POST-GAME VIDEO
OILERS TODAY | Post-Game vs. MTL
POST-RAW | Coach Woodcroft
POST-RAW | Stuart Skinner
POST-RAW | Connor McDavid
POST-GAME UPDATES
Inside The Oilers Blog

FIRST BLOOD

The Canadiens found the back of the net first courtesy of their captain.
With under four minutes remaining in the first period and McDavid in the box for holding Mike Matheson, the Montreal power play went to work. On their first shot of the man advantage, Nick Suzuki walked in from the right circle and found the only bit of space between Skinner and the near post to open the scoring for the Canadiens.
The opening tally was the 13th goal of the early season for Suzuki, who leads the Canadiens with 26 points in 24 games. The 23-year-old is a year removed from a 61-point season (21G, 40A) which saw the London, ON native named the 31st captain in Canadiens history during the offseason.
The goal was really the only prime scoring chance of the period for either team outside of a Zach Hyman breakaway away opportunity in the first 18 seconds of the game that was denied by Jake Allen. The two teams combined for only 12 shots in the period.

MAKE 'EM PAY ON THE POWER PLAY

The Oilers power play continues to click at a high level.
Early in the second period and after a Joel Edmundson high-sticking penalty, the Oilers were able to zip the puck around the Canadiens offensive zone for a couple of high danger chances.
It would be Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who quickly tapped a cross-crease pass from Draisaitl past Allen to tie the game at one apiece.
The Oilers power play wouldn't be done after some reckless stick work by Montreal. With Kirby Dach already in the box for hooking down McDavid on a near breakaway chance, Edmundson once again got the stick up but in a much more egregious way than the first time. Edmundson's stick rode up and the Canadiens defender ended up cross checking Hyman's head into the boards. After review, he was assessed a five-minute major and was ejected from the game.
"We want to score on the powerplay no matter what happens. And it's a form of our team toughness," McDavid said. "If teams want to come in and take shots and runs and all that type of stuff at guys, then we got no problem scoring on the power play. That's what we get paid to do."

The Oilers would be quick to make Montreal pay, with Draisaitl finishing off a one-timer from his trademark spot for his 10th power-play goal of the season, giving Edmonton a 2-1 lead.
The Canadiens just couldn't stay out of the box, spending almost all the second period's first 10 minutes in the sin bin. Suzuki, who opened the scoring for the Canadiens would close his hand on the puck and chuck it down the ice while trying to kill off Edmundson's five-minute infraction, leading to a penalty of his own.
McDavid continued the powerplay goal parade, stepping in from the left circle and firing a quick shot through the five hole of Allen extend the Oilers lead to 3-1 at the 9:36 mark of the second. The goal wa

CANADIENS COMEBACK

The pesky Canadiens wouldn't be put away that easily.
First they would claw a little bit closer off what appeared to be a innocuous opportunity, when Joel Armia fired a far out shot from the half wall. Unfortunately for the Oilers, the rebound would ricochet out to Evgenii Dadonov who quickly deposited the puck past Skinner.
Arber Xhekaj added a power-play snipe from the point just 3:12 later for his fourth of the season to knot the game at threes.

THIS IS 40

The injury depleted Oilers forward group were buoyed by the continued excellence of Draisaitl and McDavid.
The duo combined for eight points on the night, with the two forwards being the only two National Hockey League players to crack the 40-point plateau so far this season (the Stars' Jason Robertson currently sits at 39 points). McDavid leads the NHL with 47 points in his first 25 contests, while Draisaitl is right behind him with 42.
McDavid would ultimately seal the game for the Oilers late in the third period. After getting sprung on a breakaway by Draisaitl, the captain would use his speed to force Allen to sink deeper into his net, before roofing the backhander on the Habs goaltender.
"He comes in with so much speed that it backs a lot of goalies off and opens up some holes, and he's able to find them," Woodcroft said about the goal. "But the killer instinct aspect of it, that was a huge goal for our team. We were able to get him on the ice and a match up that we wanted at that point in the game, and he made him pay."
As a surprise to no one, McDavid has been an integral part of the Blue & Orange's offence, factoring in on 54 per cent of the team's goals this season. The victory was the ninth time Draisaitl and McDavid have both recorded at least four points in the same contest.

PARTING WORDS

Connor McDavid on the Oilers strong third period:
"I thought were not very good for 40 minutes, and we were lucky to find ourselves up one, kind of a weird game that way. I thought our group did a really good job of playing a solid, mature third period and not giving them anything. Whatever we did give up, Stu kind of shut it down, so I thought it was a real good third."
McDavid on shutting down the Canadiens in the final frame:
"We don't hide behind the fact that we need to better defensively. I think we've always had that theme around here and we find ways to score goals, but we got to keep them out of our net. I didn't like coughing up a 3-1 lead, but I thought we did a good job of kind of holding it down there, and that's a positive sign."
McDavid on the powerplay filled second period:
"It was weird. I felt like we were on the powerplay for like 10 minutes straight or something like that. I think we were, but it's probably why I felt that way, kind of a weird period weird that way. I thought the power play did a good job of finding a way to capitalize, and I thought the rest of our group found a way to get themselves back into it. I know it was a long time to kind of sit there, so I thought they did a good job too."
McDavid on being almost automatic on the breakaway:
"Early in my career, it was an area of weakness and something I need to improve. I think as my career has gone on, I've gotten better and better. Just comfortable being in that spot and just keeping it a little more simple, I think. Not to say that I can't make a nice move, but just being a little bit more simple with it."
McDavid on winning four of the last five games:
"Yeah, and it hasn't been pretty, but that's what you guys to do when you're a little bit banged up. Obviously we are and we're finding ways to win games, that's the bottom line. And so we have to keep doing that."

Head Coach Jay Woodcroft on what he liked from the Oilers defensive play in the third period:
"I think the ability to have another team have to work through you rather than giving up freebie chances against. I saw us commit to working back to our end in an organized fashion, and the other team had to work through five people. We weren't perfect that entire third period, but I saw people sacrificing to get the win, and we did a lot of good stuff. Like I said, I thought it was a mature and professional period for us."
Woodcroft on winning four of five games with the injuries:
"I think it's a credit to the people that we did dress over this time and that we are continuing to dress. It speaks to some of the depth pieces that we have in our organization that we feel good about as a credit to our management for making sure that we do have appropriate depth."
Woodcroft on the play of Jesse Puljujarvi:
"I like Jesse's game. I think if you asked him, he'd be disappointed in the fact that he hasn't put up the scoring numbers that maybe he wants to put up. But what I like about him is he's contributing to our team winning. He's finding a way to help our team win. I have full trust in him. He was a big part of that first five on three goal. He's wrestling around net front, and I think the offense will come for him. But I thought he made a lot of really strong plays, and there's a big factor in us winning the game."