McDavid, Draisaitl score for Edmonton
Oilers move within a game of tying longest win streak in NHL history
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl each had a goal and two assists and the Edmonton Oilers won their 16th consecutive game to move within one of tying the NHL record, beating the visiting Nashville Predators 4-1 on Saturday.
Edmonton will attempt to tie the record set by the 1992-93 Penguins when its returns from the All-Star break to play at Vegas on Feb. 6. The Oilers matched the 201617 Columbus Blue Jackets for the second-longest streak.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman also scored and Stuart Skinner made 28 saves to help Edmonton improve to 29-15-1. The Oilers are 24-3-0 in their past 27 and have a franchise-record streak of 14 games without allowing more than two goals.
Colton Sissons scored for Nashville, which lost its third in four.
Edmonton opened the scoring on a power play at 7:55 of the first period. Nugent-Hopkins slid into the high slot and took a feed from Draisaitl before unleashing a quick wrist shot that beat goalie Kevin Lankinen for his 12th goal of the season.
Other games
Bruins 6, Flyers 2: David Pastrnak had two goals and an assist, James van Riemsdyk had a goal and an assist and Boston routed host Philadelphia in both teams’ final game for both teams before the break.
Charlie McAvoy, Danton Heinen and Charlie Coyle also scored for Boston, which has won seven of eight. The Atlantic Division-leading Bruins entered play tied with Vancouver for the most points in the NHL. They have 71. Linus Ullmark made 35 saves, and Pavel Zacha added two assists for Boston.
Stars5, Capitals 4 (OT): Defenseman Thomas Harley scored at 3:27 of overtime for his second goal of the game and second overtime winner in two games as Dallas beat visiting Washington in each team’s last game before the NHL All-Star break. Dallas led 4-2 before a 6-on-4 goal by Alex Ovechkin and a 6-on-5 goal by Dylan Strome in the last two minutes of regulation sent the game into overtime.
Sabres 5, Sharks 2: JJ Peterka scored two goals for the second consecutive game and Buffalo netted five unanswered goals to rally past host San Jose and end the Sharks’ three-game winning streak. Peterka passed Jeff Skinner for the team lead with 18 goals this season.
Lightning 6, Devils 3: Defenseman Victor Hedman had an assist for his 700th career point, Brandon Hagel and Brayden Point each scored twice and Tampa Bay won their seventh consecutive home game, beating visiting New Jersey.
Hurricanes 3, Coyotes 1: Dmitry Orlov and Jesper Fast scored 13 seconds apart in the final minute of the third period, and host Carolina beat Arizona. Martin Necas also scored for the Hurricanes, who have won four of their past five games and remained two points behind the New York Rangers for first place in the Metropolitan Division.
Rangers 7, Senators 2: Artemi Panarin had a goal and two assists, and visiting New York scored seven unanswered goals to beat Ottawa as the Senators lost their second game in a row. Jonathan Quick made 29 saves to stop his five-game losing streak, and first-year Rangers coach Peter Laviolette tied Al Arbour for seventh place in NHL history with 782 career wins.
Maple Leafs 4, Jets 2: Auston Matthews scored his NHLleading 40th goal to reach 600 career points and Toronto completed a home-andhome sweep of host Winnipeg. Ilya Samsonov stopped 24 shots in the final game for both teams before the All-Star break. He also was in goal for Toronto in the Maple Leafs’ 10 home victory against the Jets on Wednesday night.
Panthers 3, Islanders 2 (OT): Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored 1:57 into overtime and visiting Florida beat New York for their fourth consecutive win. Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and an assist, and Sam Reinhart also scored for Florida. Anthony Stolarz made 21 saves. Kyle Palmieri and Simon Holmstrom had goals for the Islanders, who have lost three in a row and seven of eight (1-5-2). Semyon Varlamov finished with 34 saves.
Red Wings 5, Golden Knights 2: Dylan Larkin scored his 200th and 201st career goals to help host Detroit beat Vegas as the Red Wings are 9-2-1 and their past 12 games.. Larkin extended his points streak to 11 games and pushed his team-leading goals total to 22.
Notes
New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba was suspended for two games without pay by the NHL on Saturday for elbowing Vegas forward Pavel Dorofeyev.