McDavid nets shootout winner
ST. LOUIS Connor McDavid hasn’t always looked like a natural in shootouts.
The work he’s put in showed up Wednesday night.
McDavid scored in the shootout after Oscar Klefbom tied it late in the third period, and the Edmonton Oilers beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2 on Wednesday night.
McDavid improved to 7 for 13 in shootouts for his career. It was his fifth game-deciding shootout goal.
“You know we’re a pretty confident team once it gets past 60 minutes,” McDavid said. “We felt pretty good about the overtime period, but obviously it was our first shootout, but we got the win.”
Klefbom scored with 55.2 seconds remaining to tie it at 2, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and McDavid scored in the shootout. Nugent-Hopkins also scored in the second period, and Edmonton won for the fourth time in five games.
“The timing’s been good lately with my goals and I’ll take that,” Klefbom said. “It gives us so much confidence to win a game like this.”
Cam Talbot made 28 saves, plus two more in the shootout to win for the first time in seven tries dating to Oct. 28.
“Guys did a great job in front of me,” Talbot said. “After that first period, we adjusted some things and tightened up and that’s what we needed to do tonight. It was a big team win, and that’s a good confidence booster going home.”
Ivan Barbashev and Brayden Schenn scored for the Blues, who lost for the fourth time in their last five games. Jake Allen made 34 saves as St. Louis lost for the fourth time this season after taking a two-goal lead.
“We got caught in a threefourths ice game there,” Blues interim coach Craig Berube said. “We just stopped making plays, and when you stop making plays, you get the puck out and they just pound it back in and that’s their game.”