The Edmonton Oilers were slow out of the blocks to begin their three-game road trip.
After quickly finding themselves on the defensive against one Ontario-based team, the Edmonton Oilers (42-22-4, 88 points) will look for a faster start against the other on Sunday when they visit the Ottawa Senators (29-36-4, 62 points).
Edmonton began its trek on Saturday by watching the Toronto Maple Leafs score the game’s first five goals in an eventual 6-3 decision. The loss was the Oilers’ fourth in their past 13 games (9-2-2).
“I think they probably capitalized on every single one of their chances, and we gave up a little too much the first 40,” said Leon Draisaitl, who joined Corey Perry and former Maple Leafs forward Zach Hyman in scoring a goal in the third period.
“They did a good job of capitalizing on their looks, so we just gave up too much in the first 40 minutes.”
Superstar captain Connor McDavid set up three goals to match last season’s career-high assist total of 89. Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch pointed the finger at a number of issues, including the inability of McDavid’s line to effectively create offense in the early going.
“We didn’t capitalize on the early opportunities that we had in the first period, especially the McDavid line,” Knoblauch said. “They spent a lot of time in the offensive zone and just didn’t capitalize, and that set us back.”
Defenseman Evan Bouchard set up two goals for the second consecutive contest to extend his assist streak to six games. Bouchard set up all three of Hyman’s goals in the latter’s third hat trick of the season on Jan. 6, helping the Oilers to a 3-1 victory over the Senators.
Ottawa will bid to salvage a split of the season series with Edmonton on the heels of a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
The Senators found themselves staring at a deficit after yielding two quick goals to begin the second period. Ottawa provided a quick response, however, as defenseman Thomas Chabot collected a goal and an assist in just under a five-minute stretch to help the Senators snap a three-game losing skid.
“We had a really good game,” Ottawa coach Jacques Martin told TSN. “The first two shifts (of the second period), we had two turnovers and it cost us. It could have gone the other way. I give a lot of credit to our guys after making those two mistakes. We showed good composure, good poise and it paid off.”
Forward Mathieu Joseph credited his team’s resolve after the Devils’ quick strikes.
“We didn’t panic after those two quick goals,” Joseph said, per the Ottawa Sun. “We kept our composure, we stayed calm on the bench. We found a way to keep going.”
Joseph scored and set up a goal and captain Brady Tkachuk notched two assists for the Senators.
Tkachuk also set up Parker Kelly’s goal with 4:58 remaining in the third period of Ottawa’s first game against Edmonton before Hyman sealed the win with a power-play goal just over two minutes later.
–Field Level Media
