Edmonton’s Connor McDavid will look to continue his latest hot streak when the Oilers visit the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday night.
McDavid had two goals and an assist in the Oilers’ 6-3 win at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. He has 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) during a five-game points streak.
Edmonton carries a five-game points streak (4-0-1) into Sunday’s contest, the second game of a five-game road trip.
Montreal has lost three of its past four games (1-2-1) after squandering a 3-0 lead in a 5-4 overtime loss at the New York Rangers on Saturday. The Canadiens will open a four-game homestand on Sunday.
In Toronto, Vasily Podkolzin scored twice and Leon Draisaitl had three assists as Edmonton scored five straight goals after falling behind 1-0. Tristan Jarry, acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in a trade on Friday, made 25 saves in his Oilers debut.
“I thought the effort from start to finish was great,” Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse said. “Obviously, they had some pushes, especially early in the game. We were able to weather them and have our own pushes. I thought Jars made some big saves at key moments for us, and we were able to capitalize on the opportunities that came our way.”
Draisaitl has 999 career points (416 goals, 583 assists) in 822 NHL games.
McDavid gave the Oilers a 1-0 early in the contest and later tied the score 2-2 in the second period.
“He’s been doing it for us for a good stretch now, and it seems like each and every night, he’s bringing the legs and pushing the tempo for our group,” Nurse said. “Tonight was no different.”
McDavid has nine goals and 28 assists in 27 career games against the Canadiens.
Zachary Bolduc, Arber Xhekaj, Jake Evans and Josh Anderson scored for the Canadiens against New York. Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson each had two assists, and Jacob Fowler made 21 saves in his second NHL start.
New York scored the game-winner during a power play.
“I think we’re at another stage. I expect way more from this group, and for some reason we’re not getting it consistently,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “The urgency is up and down. In this league, it’s too hard. Especially when you put yourself in a good spot in the first period, you’ve got to keep that urgency level up.”
Hutson (115 games) became the fourth-fastest defenseman in NHL history to have 20 multi-assist games.
Evans gave the Canadiens a 3-0 lead at 16:18 of the third period, but New York rallied to tie it 4-4 in the second.
“Any time you get up 3-0, you have to win the game,” said Evans, who was back in the lineup after missing one game for personal reasons. “They’ve got a lot of skill there, and we kind of gave them some chances. And taking a penalty in overtime is not the best recipe either.”
The Canadiens have allowed 17 goals in their past four games.
The Oilers won the teams’ first meeting of the season 6-5 on Oct. 23, when Podkolzin scored with 1:09 left.
–Field Level Media
