GAME RECAP: Oilers 3, Senators 1

EDMONTON, AB – Zach Hyman recorded the game-winner, and Viktor Arvidsson produced a goal and an assist on Sunday night for the Edmonton Oilers in a 3-1 win over the Ottawa Senators at Rogers Place.

The defeat ends the Senators' win streak at six games, while the Oilers have earned three consecutive victories entering the holiday break.

Arvidsson opened the scoring for the Oilers in the first period with his first goal since returning from injury on Dec. 5 and recorded a helper on Zach Hyman's winning marker on the power play with under six minutes remaining in the middle frame, extending Hyman's goal-scoring streak to six straight games.

Adam Henrique provided the insurance with his third goal of the campaign 1:38 into the third before Stuart Skinner locked it down with nine saves in the final period, finishing with 21 saves to secure his fifth win in his last six starts.

The Oilers enter the holiday break with a 21-11-2 record, winning nine of their last 10 games (9-1-0) and going 15-4-1 over their previous 20 games to leave themselves three points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for first place in the Pacific Division.

"I think we're in a good spot. I think we're finding ways to win games," Skinner added. "We're doing our best not to lose two in a row, and we've been doing a pretty good job at that lately. I think that the way that we've been playing at all ends of the ice has been pretty consistent. So I think heading into the break, just trying to relax a bit and let the legs up so that we can feel rested coming into the rest of the season here."

Edmonton will be back in action on Dec. 28 in Los Angeles for the first of back-to-back road games in California before returning to Rogers Place to host Utah Hockey Club on New Year's Eve.

FIRST PERIOD

How about a little holiday shuffle?

With the absence of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins due to illness, the Oilers were forced into making a few changes to their lineup before meeting the red-hot Senators, who'd won six straight games coming into Sunday at Rogers Place.

Derek Ryan returned on the fourth line with Jeff Skinner and Corey Perry to give the veteran forward his 600th career NHL game a week before his 38th birthday, while forward Viktor Arvidsson took over top-line duties next to Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman in his third game back from injury.

"I just tried to play my game and play with the puck and work hard," Arvidsson said. "I think we created a lot of chances."

Netminder Linus Ullmark had been a massive part of the Senators' win streak, winning each of his last seven starts and going unbeaten in regulation over his last nine (8-0-1). The Swede made a great glove save against Adam Henrique early on in the opening three minutes of the first period when Brown waited to deliver a pass to his linemate coming through the middle of two Senators defencemen, but Ullmark stuck out the glove to take away the chance.

"That was kind of the discussion before we stepped out on the ice, which was how hot of a team they are right now and how well Ullmark's been playing," Stuart Skinner said. "So it was a discussion for all of us to hear to get up for this game, and no matter what game you're playing, there's always two points on the line. When it comes down to the very end, those two points really matter."

However, Ullmark didn't have much of a chance to stop Arvidsson from burying Connor McDavid's quick pass out front from the corner with 5:34 left in the opening frame, resulting in the Oilers taking the lead on his third goal of the season.

The Oilers captain knocked the puck down along the boards against Travis Hamonic and took one peek in front before firing it across to Arvidsson to score his first goal since Nov. 9 against the Canucks, and first since returning from a 15-game injury absence on Dec. 5.

"He put it in the back of the net, so that was nice," Knoblauch said of placing Arvidsson on the top line. "He made some nice plays and he's typically been a guy that produces and can play with top talent. This weekend we were playing three-in-four and we didn't want to overuse him. He played the majority of the first game on the fourth line, moved up third line in the second game, and then with the illness to Nuge, he can certainly fill in that that role. "

McDavid's assist leaves him just three points away from tying Mark Messier (1,034) for the third-most points in Oilers franchise history and 12 points from catching Jari Kurri (1,043) for second.

Arvidsson's shot would be the last Ullmark would see after the Senators' shot-stopper left with an upper-body injury, leading to Leevi Merilainen coming out to start the second period making an appearance for the second straight night after making 21 saves in a 5-4 overtime win in Vancouver on Saturday.

"You never like seeing that," Skinner said. "The guy who came in, he was fantastic and made some big stops when he needed to, but even though that you're playing against them and trying to beat him and all that jazz, I think it's always tough seeing somebody get injured, so I hope that he gets better soon."

SECOND PERIOD

Zach Hyman is the gift that keeps on giving for Oil Country this holiday season.

Ottawa forward Nick Cousins picked the pocket of Evan Bouchard at the Oilers' blue line early in the middle frame and sniped it top shelf on Stuart Skinner, drawing the Senators even with his fifth goal of the season only 25 seconds into the period.

The Senators would run into trouble in the middle frame with eight minutes in penalties, taking their second infraction midway through the period on a slash by Brady Tkachuk against Evan Bouchard that resulted in Hyman restoring the lead on a power-play goal with over six minutes left in the frame.

Less than 20 seconds were remaining in Tkachuk's penalty when Leon Draisaitl tried to pick out Arvidsson with a hard pass to the back post, where the Swede took a few whacks at a loose puck to turn it loose on the left side of Merilainen in the Senators' crease.

Hyman dropped down from the hash marks and put slotted in his 13th goal of the campaign, extending his incredible scoring streak to six straight games and 10 goals over his last nine outings.

"When you're feeling good, things are easier," Hyman said. "Obviously, things slow down. When you're not feeling good, everything seems fast, so I'm the same player, but I think having played in this league a long time, I recognize that so much of hockey and sports are results-driven. And when you're not getting the results, you know that it's about the process and about getting your looks and getting your chances and being around it.

"I think you can find confidence in a number of ways, and having scored in this league a long time, you can find confidence in knowing that if you continue to get the chances, they're going to go in."

Arvidsson's assist marked his second multi-point game this season, last recording three assists on Oct. 25 in a 4-0 shutout of Pittsburgh.

THIRD PERIOD

After the Oilers increased their lead early in the third period, it was Stuart Skinner's turn to put a bow on the victory.

Less than two minutes into the final frame, Edmonton's third line of Mattias Janmark, Adam Henrique and Connor Brown came onto the ice and went right to work, forcing the Senators into giving up the puck in their own zone to create an odd-numbers scenario on the right side for Travis Hamonic to try to defend.

Janmark found Henrique in the slot for the 34-year-old forward to fire a snap shot past Merilainen for the 3-1 lead just 1:38 into the final period.

"I thought [Henrique] was really good. I thought he did pretty much everything," Knoblauch said. "The face-offs were a little down in his game, but everything else was against their top line for most of the night, and I thought they handled that really well – the forecheck and turning pucks over. I thought it was a really solid game, and that's pretty much what Adam gives you every night. He doesn't make many mistakes; not flashy, but he does all the little things."

Stuart Skinner shut down any potential comeback for the Senators with a stellar third-period performance, making nine stops to finish with 21 saves.

The Edmonton-born netminder made a terrific effort to stop Tim Stutzle near the halfway point of the final frame before defenceman Darnell Nurse helped to redirect the rebound over the glass and away from danger.

The Oilers remained resilient in the final frame en route to picking up their third straight victory heading into the holiday break.