GAME STORY: Oilers 6, Blackhawks 3 (Game 2)

EDMONTON, AB -McDavid on a mission.
The Oilers captain scored his first-career playoff hat-trick and the team also got some key secondary scoring as they evened up their Stanley Cup Qualifying Round series with the Chicago Blackhawks at 1-1 with a 6-3 victory in Game 2 on Monday.

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McDavid didn't waste any time getting started either, scoring his first of the night just 19 seconds after puck-drop with some sublime hand-eye coordination.
Darnell Nurse passed the puck up to McDavid in the neutral zone, and the captain dumped it into Blackhawks territory before taking off in pursuit. Duncan Keith's clearing attempt was knocked down by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins along the half-wall, and he dropped it back to Nurse who fanned on a pass attempt to a streaking McDavid, but number 97 was able to pivot and smack the bouncing puck top corner blocker side on Corey Crawford.
"He came out with a huge goal on the first shift to get us going," said forward James Neal. "That's what he does. He wants to play in the biggest games, and that was a huge one for us."
"Connor led the way, especially early," echoed fellow forward Tyler Ennis. "He set the tone for us, gave us a spark. That's exactly what we needed and everybody followed."
McDavid's near-immediate tally was the second-fastest goal to start a game in Oilers post-season history, just behind Fernando Pisani who scored 16 seconds into Game 5 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final against the Carolina Hurricanes, which was the same game he also ended with the first shorthanded overtime winner in Cup Final history.
Captain Connor kept buzzing in the early stages of the first, extending Edmonton's lead to 2-0 at the 4:05 mark with a dazzling display of speed and skill.
After Mikko Koskinen made a save on a long, bouncing shot, the Oilers quickly cleared the zone and Nugent-Hopkins found McDavid cutting through the neutral zone, allowing the human highlight reel to explode around blueliner Olli Maata and place a brilliant backhand over Crawford's shoulder, just under the crossbar, for his third goal and fifth point in just over three periods.

"Those first two goals sent a really strong message to our team that he's here to play," Head Coach Dave Tippett said of McDavid's scorching start.
"It's pretty spectacular what he can do with that speed," added defenceman Ethan Bear. "He's a top-end player and he does that all the time in practice, so it's no surprise. When he steps up like that, it really gives us extra confidence."
Once the smoke had dissipated following McDavid's rocket-skate deployment, the Blackhawks were able to get one back at 9:06 of the first as Alex DeBrincat got the puck behind the Oilers net and found Patrick Kane in front for a shot along the ice that found its way between Koskinen's pad and the far post for Kane's 51st career post-season tally.
Edmonton re-established its two-goal cushion with another quick one in the middle frame as Tyler Ennis snuck a long wrist shot through traffic and between Crawford's pads at 1:44 for his first playoff goal since 2011 when he was a member of the Buffalo Sabres.
Chicago quickly got it back to a one-goal game, though, when Slater Koekkoek took a feed from DeBrincat and beat Koskinen with a wrist shot at 4:22. They then tied it up with just under than five minutes to go in the period on a fortuitous bounce, as Maata's point shot deflected off a sprawled Kris Russell and hopped over Koskinen's pad to make it 3-3.
Prior to Maata's goal, the Oilers killed off three consecutive penalties, and their special teams prowess continued when they got their next man advantage that resulted in McDavid's hat-trick marker with 2:50 left in the period to make it 4-3. While his first two tallies were of the electric variety, the captain's third of the night came on a pass attempt that bounced off Keith and beat Crawford.

"The sacrifices all those guys made was special to watch from the bench," McDavid said of the three consecutive penalty kills that led to his hat-trick goal. "It was contagious and I thought they did an amazing job."
Members of the NHL event staff tossed a few hats on the ice to commemorate the milestone, which was Edmonton's first playoff hat-trick since Game 6 of the 2017 Western Conference Semifinals when Leon Draisaitl lit the lamp three times in a 7-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.
The Oilers rattled off a pair of insurance goals 40 seconds apart in the third to make it 6-3, with both coming from the checking line of Neal, Alex Chiasson and Jujhar Khaira. The first came after Khaira's aggressive forecheck caused Crawford turn the puck over to Neal, who tucked home his second of the playoffs into the vacated net. Neal then made a determined rush to the net, with Chiasson converting the rebound.
"We played more to how we're capable of playing, right throughout our lineup, and the results showed in a win," Tippett said. "We knew this was a critical game for us, and I really liked the way our guys came out and played accordingly."
Edmonton will look to earn a 2-1 series advantage on Wednesday when the teams face off for Game 3. There will now be a confirmed Game 4 as well on Friday, with Game 5 (if necessary) scheduled for Saturday.