GAME RECAP: Predators 5, Oilers 2

EDMONTON, AB – The Edmonton Oilers were handed their sixth defeat in their last seven games on Saturday afternoon after falling 5-2 to the Nashville Predators at Rogers Place.

Forward Ryan O'Reilly recorded a hat-trick and an assist as one of two Predators alongside Filip Forsberg (1G, 3A) to record four points in the matinee victory that drops the Oilers overall record to 2-7-1 on the season. Goalie Kevin Lankinen stopped 33 of 35 shots for Nashville.

"Really similar to the other night," Connor McDavid said. "I thought we had a good start, and then just mental mistakes that just keep costing us over and over again and make us chase the game. It's hard to chase games in this league."

Darnell Nurse and Zach Hyman scored Edmonton's goals in the defeat, while netminder Jack Campbell took the loss after making 30 saves on 35 shots.

"Right now it's just death by 1,000 cuts," McDavid added. "That's what it feels like. It's just one mistake and it costs us another little mistake and it kind of just snowballs."

The Oilers now hit the road for a three-game road trip beginning Monday night at Rogers Arena against the Vancouver Canucks.

"We've got to move on and focus on the next game," Brett Kulak said. "Now it's over. Each individual has made mistakes and you need to look yourself in the mirror and clean it up and be better for the next game."

FIRST PERIOD

A rare second-unit power-play goal for the Blue & Orange got us off and running, but it was a lead that was short-lived.

McDavid drew a holding penalty on Jeremy Lauzon at the end of a long shift in the offensive zone, so it was Edmonton's PP2 that marched off the Oilers bench for their teams' first look with the man advantage of the afternoon.

Edmonton's power play came into Saturday's matinee operating at 21.2 percent efficiency this season – good enough for 13th in the NHL (7-for-33) – and would be responsible for their two goals.

Mattias Ekholm, facing his former team of 10 seasons for the first time at Rogers Place, offloaded the puck to Nurse in space, who struck the post with his slap shot before the puck found its way over the line after pinballing in off the right skate of Predators' netminder Kevin Lankinen.

Ryan McLeod picked up the secondary helper for his first point of the season on the play that opened the scoring at 9:57 of the opening frame.

But even before in-game announcer Al Stafford could finish reading out the goal at Rogers Place, the Predators had their equalizing goal.

The Nashville duo of Ryan O'Reilly and Filip Forsberg would prove to be a thorn in Edmonton's side all afternoon, and the pair of forwards combined for the first of many times on Saturday when Forsberg finished off a wrap-around that came off a quick zone entry just 25 seconds after Nurse put the Oilers into the lead.

"I thought we gave up a couple of goals specifically right at the net. Not a good sign for us," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said. "That's an area that we have to control a lot better, so that's a lost puck battle in that area. I thought there were a couple of chances and goals we gave up that were off the rush. Another concern for our group in those areas that we'd like to clean up."

SECOND PERIOD

The Predators put their stamp on Saturday's game with a three-goal second period that started with a goal less than 25 seconds after the centre-ice draw.

"I think those are key moments that we talk about all the time – the shift after a goal, the shift to start a period, the shift to start a game – so those are things that we're saying," Hyman said. "Those are things you talk about and things that the coach talks about, but we have to go out there and do it."

Forsberg ripped a wrist shot from the top of the right circle that couldn't be corralled by Campbell in Edmonton's crease before O'Reilly put the rebound away from one knee just 23 seconds into the period to provide the Predators the one-goal lead.

"There's no other answer. It's just that we're not doing it right now and we need to start doing it," Hyman added. "I know it can sound like a silly answer, but that's the honest truth. We know what we have to do. We're not currently doing it, but we know we can do it, so we have to get to it."

The two Nashville skaters would reconnect 3:01 later on the power play to double the visitors' advantage when the Swedish winger put a cross-crease feed onto the tape of O'Reilly for a one-timer that the centre finished for his second goal of the game.

The Oilers were in need of a bounce and a change in fortune after conceding back-to-back goals to begin the second period, and their power play produced another goal after Evan Bouchard's shot from the top of the zone was redirected into the Nashville net by the skate of Hyman.

Hyman now has 15 points (6G, 9A) in 14 career games against the Predators and is tied for second in Oilers scoring with five goals and six assists alongside McDavid, who added an assist on his linemate's power-play goal.

Before Edmonton escaped the period, they'd fall victim to another odd-man rush on the counter-attack when Tommy Novak beat Vincent Desharnais up the ice, took the breakaway feed from Luke Evangelista and beat Campbell top shelf with 4:35 left before the intermission.

The Oilers have now been outscored 17-8 in second periods this season after being outscored 3-1 and outshot 15-14 in the middle frame by Nashville on Saturday.

THIRD PERIOD

O'Reilly had the puck in the back of the net more than once on the same shift to secure his hat trick.

The centre looked to have put the puck into the back of the net moments before he did it a second time almost eight-and-a-half minutes into the final frame, but after the referees checked the replay, it was determined that his first chance did indeed cross the line, meaning that the clock would go back 10 seconds to give Nashville the three-goal lead on his first crack at a hat-trick.

"Obviously they're banging in too many rebounds and loose pucks around the net, but I think it even starts before that," Kulak said. "We've got to be cleaner when we got the puck in our stick on opportunities to make the breakout pass, so I think it kind of starts from there and then you isolate the weak plays around the net."

The Predators were still able to take a 5-2 lead, and it's an advantage they would not relinquish as Edmonton fell to their fifth defeat in six games.

PARTING WORDS

Hyman on the accountability and attentiveness in the Oilers locker room:

"I think the attentiveness is there. For that coach's message, I think Woody's track record speaks for itself. He came in and really shaped our team, and I think we've gone through stretches like this in the past with Woody as coach as well. We've gone through ten-game segments where we haven't been our best, but I think we're confident that we know what we need to do to turn it around. That's the honest answer is you just got to go out there and work, and we have all the tools, we have everybody, and we have the personnel to do it. We just have to go out there and do it."

Woodcroft on the togetherness in the group as they try to break out of this funk:

"I thought we lost a lot of puck battles today. Didn't like that. Didn't like seeing that. I thought our puck play wasn't good enough today. To a man, not good enough from everybody."

"We're very clear that when you're in a funk or you're in it up to your knees, the only way forward is to stick together. So that's number one – stick together and work your way through it. But it's about addressing parts of the game like the ones I just mentioned that have to be cleaned up. We're aware that for us to win right now it has to be on the defensive side of things, not on the offensive side.