Draisaitl has 3 points, lifts Oilers past Predators

NASHVILLE – Leon Draisaitl had two goals and one assist, and the Edmonton Oilers won 5-1 against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.

The Oilers (5-5-1) played without forward Connor McDavid, who will miss the next 2-3 weeks with an ankle injury.

“You’re never going to just take care of Connor leaving,” Draisaitl said. “You know? There’s always going to be some pieces missing. He’s the best player in the world, so we’re certainly going to miss him, but it also creates a lot of opportunities, a lot of looks for other players. I thought tonight everyone did a great job of accepting that and sticking together and playing collectively as a group.”

Zach Hyman and Viktor Arvidsson each scored their first goal of the season, and Calvin Pickard made 26 saves for the Oilers, who played the third game of a four-game road trip.

Filip Forsberg scored for the Predators (3-6-1), who are 2-5-0 at home. Juuse Saros made 24 saves.

“I don’t think you have to have answers, but I think you have to have desperation and determination,” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. “And I can’t say that we’ve had that. I think we think it’ll be OK and we’re fine and it’s not a big deal and we’re good and all that kind of stuff. I don’t think that we’ve been determined enough that we can give chemistry a chance right now.”

Arvidsson gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead 37 seconds into the game on a tap-in off a pass from Draisaitl from the slot.

“With the exception of last game, the last four games have been really, really good,” Draisaitl said of his chemistry with Arvidsson and Vasily Podkolzin. “I think we’re connecting. We’re creating a lot of looks. I think all three of us would like to finish a little bit better. I think there’s a lot of looks that can be put in the net, but I think we’re finding each other. We’re reading off each other. I’ve really enjoyed playing with them.”

Forsberg scored for the Predators to make it 1-1 at 5:05 of the first period on the power play from the slot. A clearing attempt from Oilers defenseman Brett Kulak bounced off Oilers forward Connor Brown, and Forsberg got to the loose puck and beat Pickard.

“We’ve got to start playing our game and start dominating games,” Predators defenseman Roman Josi said. “Play that style of hockey. And we haven’t been doing that. We can’t keep saying, ‘Oh, we’ve got to find chemistry.’ Like, it’s 10 games in. It’s time to do it now. We’ve got to do it starting next game.”

Corey Perry gave the Oilers a 2-1 lead at 9:54 of the first period on a backhand shot on a rebound. Noah Philp, who made his NHL debut, had an assist.

“It was an amazing game, and I thought just the energy from all the guys was so much fun to be a part of,” Philp said. “Having my family here was incredible.”

Draisaitl gave the Oilers a 3-1 lead at 9:03 of the second period on a breakaway. Predators forward Michael McCarron fell at the blue line, and Draisaitl took the puck and beat Saros with a wrist shot.

Draisaitl gave the Oilers a 4-1 lead at 1:48 of the third period. He drove past Predators defenseman Brady Skjei and beat Saros on the short side.

Hyman gave the Oilers a 5-1 lead at 12:46 of the third period on a breakaway.

“They came out strong,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “[Draisaitl’s] line was definitely the three best forwards. All game I thought they had a lot of pace, a lot of execution, scoring chances. You needed everyone to pick it up a little bit, and I thought they did. Tonight, overall, I thought it was a good effort. In the second period, we got away with giving them a little momentum with turnovers in the neutral zone, but overall we checked well and played good defensive hockey.”

NOTES: Arvidsson finished the game with five shots on goal and 11 shot attempts. Ten of his shot attempts came in the first period. … Predators forward Mark Jankowski missed the game because of an upper-body injury. He is day-to-day.