GAME RECAP: Oilers 7, Penguins 2

PITTSBURGH, PA -Connor McDavid recorded two goals and two assists while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins registered his 600th career NHL point in a 7-2 rout of the Pittsburgh Penguins by the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena.
McDavid matched his career high for goals in the first period with a terrific shot from below the goal line before surpassing it two periods later with a sublime penalty-shot goal late in the game, setting a new career high with his 46th of the year in the four-point evening.
Nugent-Hopkins notched his 28th goal of the season off one of his trademark low blocker wrist shots during a four-goal second period for Edmonton to matching his own career high for goals set in 2018-19.
"I thought it was a great shot," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "I thought it was a great play. Connor set him up nicely and post-and-in. That's kind of his signature. It was a good shot and important goal at the time for us."
Edmonton's offence was clicking no matter which line Woodcroft sent to the ice, with six different goalscorers finding the back of the net for the Blue & Orange. In addition to Nugent-Hopkins, McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who scored in a sixth straight game, Kailer Yamamoto, Devin Shore and Warren Foegele also tickled the twine behind Penguins starter Tristan Jarry, who was pulled from action to start the third period.
Jarry allowed six goals on 29 shots through two periods in only his second game back from a lower-body injury, while his rival in the Oilers crease in Stuart Skinner picked up his second win in a row and 15th of the season by turning away 22-of-24 shots.

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FIRST BLOOD

For a second straight game against a team from Pennsylvania, the Oilers found themselves chasing the game in the first period.
The Oilers failed to clear the zone just outside the opening minute and the Penguins took advantage. It was veteran defenceman Kris Letang who did the damage, collecting a Bryan Rust pass in the slot before walking in all alone for the easy goal on a sprawling Stuart Skinner.
The marker was Letang's sixth of the season and came just 1:05 into the game, putting the Oilers on the back foot early.

THE POWER PLAY STRIKES

The Oiler power play came to play in Pittsburgh.
With the Oilers pressing for the tying goal before the end of the first period, it was the captain who provided it. Edmonton found themselves on the power play after Sidney Crosby boarded Vincent Desharnais behind the Oilers net.
It took all of 23 seconds for McDavid to make the Penguins pay, streaking down the left wing and firing a sharp angle shot off the back of Jarry and into the net for his 45 goal of the year. The 26-year-old has been on a tear this season when it comes to putting pucks in the back of the net, having set a new career high for goals just 59 games into the season.

The Oilers took the lead before the end of the frame, once again on the man advantage. It was Penguins defender Pierre-Olivier Joseph who was biding his time in the box following an interference call.
Tyson Barrie kicked the play off by walking the line at the blueline and firing a shot on Jarry. Leon Draisaitl was 'Johnny on the spot' and used the 'Burger Flipper' to hammer home his 35th goal of the season and 22nd on the power play.

SUPPLEMENTARY SCORING

After the Dynamic Duo provided the Oilers the lead, it was some of the 'unusual suspects' that added to it.
First it was Kailer Yamamoto finishing off a nice redirection play from Darnell Nurse, who dished to Zach Hyman for the tip drill on Jarry at 6:06 of the second period. The former Oil Kings goaltender made the initial save, but Yamamoto was able to poke in the rebound for his fifth of the season and his first since Jan. 9 against Los Angeles.
The 4-1 marker was added 1:44 later when Devin Shore received a perfect cross-ice pass originating off the blade of Jesse Puljujarvi's stick. Shore received the feed at the top of the left circle and quickly fired his first goal of the season by Jarry to add to the Oilers advantage. The 28-year-old has been up and down from Bakersfield this season, but has been a solid contributor in the last three games with two points and a plus-2 rating. Shore followed up his first of the season with an emphatic celebration as the red light flickered behind him.

"I don't remember what I did," Shore said post-game. "I was excited. It's always nice to see one go in for you."
"He's been working so hard for us and just really sticking with it," Nugent-Hopkins said. "Jesse made a great play to him and he bared down and put it in, and I know it's probably a bit of a weight off his shoulders and everybody in here is definitely happy to see it."
Warren Foegele made it 5-1 for the Oilers with 4:50 left in the second period, one-timing his 10th goal of the season behind Jarry. The puck was placed on a platter for the Oilers forward after the saucer pass was delivered by Draisaitl.

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

The Penguins had thought they started chipping away at the Oilers advantage in the third period, but the home side were proven wrong twice after video review.
Evgeni Malkin believed he had ripped his 22nd of the season behind Skinner, but a coaches' challenge by Video Coach Jeremy Coupal and Jay Woodcroft determined the puck went out of the zone before the goal.
"Jeremy is pretty diligent in there. He sees everything," Nugent-Hopkins said about another successful coaches challenge. "I've been back there before and he's got cameras from all angles and he knows what he's doing for sure. Obviously, the guys on the bench trust him. It's hard to say when it's that tight and it's live, but obviously he sees things that we can't."
Pittsburgh had found another puck behind Skinner off the stick of Jeff Carter about six minutes later; however, a quick congregation by the officials confirmed Carter's stick was above the crossbar, negating another Penguins goal.

PARTING WORDS

Head Coach Jay Woodcroft on the Oilers performance after the Penguins first goal:
"It was kind of a different goal. Guy came off the bench. We tripped up our own goaltender in that situation and they scored. It sounds weird, but I really like the way we were playing in that first period and even though we were down 1-0 for the first few ten minutes or so. What I really liked was how we skated tonight. I thought we skated very well."
Woodcroft on the Oilers depth scoring:
"How about Yamamoto? How about Foegeld? How about the game Shore put down? Jesse Puljujarvi played a great game. I thought what I really liked about the game tonight was all the contributions that we got from everybody. I'd go back to saying that I like the way we've skated, and when we're skating at that level, I think we're a tough team to handle. The goals went in, sure, but we did a lot of good things defensively as well. It was a good team effort. We're going to enjoy it for a little bit and get on the plane to Columbus and get ready for a team that won a hard fought game in our building in overtime."

Woodcroft on McDavid's four-point night:
"All the adjectives have all been used by me. I said this earlier in the year, the local media would have heard me say it, but I heard someone say it's like living at the foot of Everest. You almost become numb to what you're seeing every day. I think it's important that everybody take a step back and understand that we're seeing someone at the top of their craft. in the prime of their career, putting out there what he's putting out. And he does it day-in, day-out. He's supported by a bunch of teammates that he loves to lead and that work hard for him. It's quite impressive."
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the full-team effort:
"I thought the way that we defended (was good). Obviously, they got that first goal and we responded quick and got those power-play goals and then we just kind of started flowing from there. I thought Yamo, Shoresy, Jesse were flying around for us and really got us a lot of momentum and then obviously, Shore was rewarded for that one. It was great to see, but I thought everybody was playing well and we were all on the same page tonight."
Nugent-Hopkins on Connor McDavid's performance:
"I've played with him for eight years now, and you guys see it too. It's a lot of fun to be a part of. I mean, that first goal, I think he was actually behind the goal line and somehow put it in over the shoulder. That's pretty special. For him to reach his career high in goals is obviously a huge accomplishment given what he's done in his career."
Devin Shore on what it's like watching McDavid's penalty shot from the bench:
"A lot of confidence on the bench. A little bit of curiosity. You want to know what he's going to do. He didn't disappoint tonight. It was pretty wild. Pretty nice one."