Leon Draisaitl had a goal and two assists to help the Edmonton Oilers defeat the Nashville Predators 5-1 on Thursday.
The Oilers (5-5-1) prevailed in the absence of their captain. Connor McDavid is injured in his ankle and is expected to miss two to three weeks of activities. He tripped on the stick of Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski in his first appearance Monday and fell heavily against the railing.
The Canadian team will conclude its four-game road trip against the Calgary Flames on Sunday.
Viktor Arvidsson and Zach Hyman scored their first goals of the campaign. In both cases, these were highly anticipated nets. Arvidsson redirected Draisaitl’s pass to open the scoring 37 seconds in, the fourth-fastest goal this season.
The latter made it 3-1 during a breakaway in the second period after a fall by Michael McCarron at the blue line. He added more at the start of the third by mocking defender Brady Skjei before beating Juuse Saros.
Hyman also put the finishing touches on a breakaway at 12:46 of the third period.
Corey Perry was the other scorer for the Oilers, who bounced back from their bitter 6-1 loss to the Blue Jackets.
Filip Forsberg responded for the Predators, who lost a second game in a row. They have little success at home as evidenced by their 2-5 record.
Calvin Pickard stopped 26 shots in the victory while his opposite number Juuse Saros made 24 saves.
Canada
