Edmonton 5, Nashville 1
When: 8:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 26, 2014
Where: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta
Referees:
Dennis LaRue, Don VanMassenhoven
Linesmen:
Darren Gibbs, Mark Shewchyk
Attendance:
16839
By SportsDirect Inc.
Oilers 5, Predators 1: Ryan Smyth scored a power-play goal to climb within one of first place on the franchise list as host Edmonton halted its six-game winless streak.
Defenseman Justin Schultz, Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each recorded a goal and an assist, Nail Yakupov also tallied and Ben Scrivens made 34 saves for the Oilers, who have outscored the Predators 8-1 in two victories this season. Smyth, who also had an assist, pulled even with Wayne Gretzky for second on Edmonton's power-play goal list with 125 - one behind Glenn Anderson.
David Legwand netted the lone tally for Nashville, which saw its three-game point streak (2-0-1) come to an end. Carter Hutton turned aside 22 shots.
Schultz gave Edmonton an early lead as he swept the puck past Hutton from the bottom of the slot 2:59 into the contest, but Legwand pulled Nashville even by beating Scrivens from the right faceoff circle during a 2-on-1 rush at 15:25. Eberle put the Oilers ahead for good with 12 seconds remaining in the opening period, tapping in a brilliant pass from the left circle by Taylor Hall for his 18th goal.
Smyth made it 3-1 midway through the second, when he knocked in a loose puck on the doorstep after being hit by defenseman Corey Potter's one-timer from the blue line. Yakupov converted a feed from Sam Gagner later in the session and Nugent-Hopkins capped the scoring during a power play with 4:28 left in the third.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Hall notched a pair of assists, giving him 22 points over his last 18 games. ... Eberle extended his point streak to five contests and has scored a goal in four of those matches. ... Edmonton captain Andrew Ference was not in the lineup due to a head injury suffered in Friday's loss to Phoenix. ... Nashville LW Eric Nystrom did not register a shot after scoring a career-high four goals against Calgary on Friday.
Top Game Performances
Nashville |
|
Edmonton |
David Legwand 1 |
Points |
Jordan Eberle 2 |
David Legwand 1 |
Goals |
Jordan Eberle 1 |
Craig Smith 1 |
Assists |
Taylor Hall 2 |
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 1 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Carter Hutton .815 |
Save Percentage |
Ben Scrivens .971 |
Carter Hutton 22 |
Saves |
Ben Scrivens 34 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Nashville
|
35 |
1 |
0-3 |
1-3 |
6 |
27 |
Edmonton
|
27 |
5 |
2-3 |
3-3 |
6 |
34 |
Upcoming Games
-
Edmonton will play their next game on the road against Vancouver. The Oilers have a W/L % of .267 after a win and .308 after a loss.
-
Nashville will play their next game on the road against Winnipeg. The Predators have a W/L % of .478 after a win and .387 after a loss.