McDavid has 3 points, Oilers defeat Senators

OTTAWA -- Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard each had three points for the Edmonton Oilers in a 5-2 win against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday.

McDavid had two goals and an assist, and Draisaitl and Bouchard each had a goal and two assists.

“I thought it was a resilient effort,” McDavid said. “Not easy. A lot of travel, a back-to-back, and they were rested. I thought we were a little bit behind the eight ball, but just found a way to get it done tonight. That’s what it was all about.”

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored, Vasily Podkolzin had two assists and Stuart Skinner made 27 saves for the Oilers (10-8-2), who began their three-game road trip with losses to the Toronto Maple Leafs (4-3 in overtime on Saturday) and Montreal Canadiens (3-0 on Monday).

“It was massive,” Skinner said. “Obviously, if we didn’t [win] it would’ve been a pretty ugly road trip, especially playing all the Canadian teams. You always want to show up for those. I think being able to get off to a good start in the first period was a big help, especially going into a back-to-back.”

Tim Stutzle and Josh Norris scored, and Linus Ullmark made 26 saves for the Senators (8-9-1), who have lost three straight (0-2-1).

“One word you could say is immature,” Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk said. “I mean, we talk about it in here all the time, and there's just been too many moments, too many opportunities that have been missed so far. And I know and I believe that it's going to get corrected, but it needs to get corrected right now.”

Bouchard gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead at 3:46 of the first period. He skated through the neutral zone with speed, toe-dragged Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot in the slot, and lifted the puck over Ullmark’s glove from in tight.

“Beautiful goal, beautiful goal,” McDavid said. “'Bouch' is a great player. So patient with it, never in a rush. You can see both of those things on that goal. A beautiful move and a beautiful finish.”

Stutzle tied it 1-1 at 15:40 with a one-timer from the left hash marks off a pass from Drake Batherson from behind the net.

McDavid put the Oilers back in front 2-1 at 16:15. He buried a rebound in front after Ullmark broke up Podkolzin's backdoor pass for McDavid with his left pad.

McDavid then made it 3-1 at 19:19, scoring with a wrist shot from above the circles on a 5-on-3 power play.

“Flat, not a lot of energy, not sharp with our execution. We were flat,” Ottawa coach Travis Green said. “It is frustrating, for sure. I thought we had a flat practice yesterday and thought it carried over.

“When you make a mistake, you've got to stick with your game. And sometimes I find that with this group, we’re a great team when we have the lead and we play better when we have the lead. We haven't played very well chasing the game or when we’re behind.”

Draisaitl pushed it to 4-1 at 4:39 of the second period. He got behind the defense, took a lead pass from McDavid, and slid a backhand between Ullmark's pads.

“I think, as a group, and I think myself as well, the first two periods are probably the worst two periods I’ve played,” Chabot said. “And you know what? You’ve got to take some ownership.”

Nugent-Hopkins made it 5-1 at 11:50 of the third period, redirecting in a centering pass from Derek Ryan.

Norris tipped in Nick Jensen's point shot at 17:36 for the 5-2 final.

“We let one slip away in the Toronto game. We had opportunities to get leads in Montreal, but we didn’t,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “... It’s always nicer that you get a win [before] you go home, because Thursday (against the Minnesota Wild) is going to be a tough game.”

NOTES: Oilers forward Zach Hyman did not play the third period due to an undisclosed injury. “Obviously, he wasn’t good enough to return," Knoblauch said. "We’ll see how he’s doing tonight.” ... McDavid and Draisaitl each had at least three points in a game for the 43rd time, the most among active duos in the NHL. ... Bouchard had three points in a period for the first time in his NHL career.