McDavid gets hat trick, Oilers cruise past Predators

EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid scored a hat trick to extend his point streak to 16 games for the Edmonton Oilers in a 6-2 victory against the Nashville Predators at Rogers Place on Tuesday.

It was McDavid's second hat trick of the season and 14th of his career. He has 39 points (17 goals, 22 assists) during his streak.

“It was a good start for us and we kind of rode it all the way through, were solid all the way through,” McDavid said. “A little bit of a lapse there early in the third, but I thought we did a good job regaining it.”

Leon Draisaitl had a goal and two assists, and Kasperi Kapanen had a goal and an assist for the Oilers (21-16-6), who had lost two in a row and three of their past four. Vasily Podkolzin had two assists, and Connor Ingram made 24 saves.

“I thought we played pretty well. I’m not saying we overpowered them, I don’t think it was as bad as it looked on the scoreboard,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “But tonight was a better effort from us. They had a push early in the third, and then we had another penalty kill and we found our game again.”

Ryan O'Reilly and Nick Blankenburg scored for the Predators (19-19-4), who have lost two of three and ended a seven-game road trip 4-3-0. Juuse Saros made 37 saves.

“It’s a 1-0 hockey game with four minutes left in the second period, and we knew they’d push, we knew there would be some chaos,” Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said. “I thought we handled it pretty well, and then we gift-wrapped three goals and it was going to be tough to come back.”

McDavid gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 8:53 of the first period. He maneuvered around O'Reilly through the left face-off circle and deked to his forehand around the right pad of Saros to tuck the puck into an open net.

McDavid then pushed it to 2-0 when he scored on a penalty shot at 15:53 of the second period, lifting a shot over the blocker of Saros from in tight.

The goal was McDavid's 27th of the season (43 games). He scored 26 goals in 67 games last season.

Curtis Lazar extended the lead to 3-0 just 22 seconds later, scoring on a rebound through traffic with his backhand from the slot at 16:15.

Kapanen scored his first of the season at 18:52 when his wrist shot from in front deflected in off Predators defenseman Roman Josi. Kapanen had not played since Oct. 19, missing the previous 36 games with a lower-body injury.

“At times, you can notice that I haven’t played in 2 1/2 months,” Kapanen said. “But all in all, I thought it was not a bad effort.”

O'Reilly cut the deficit to 4-1 at 3:48 of the third period, sliding the rebound of Nicolas Hague's point shot past Ingram's right pad.

“It’s disappointing. We had a chance to make it a really good road trip,” O’Reilly said. “We’re down 1-0 at the end of the first, and I think if we can stay in the game from there it’s a bit of an opportunity for us. ... You give up three quick ones and it’s tough.”

Blankenburg brought Nashville to within 4-2 just 15 seconds later at 4:03 when his one-timer off Reid Schaefer's pass from below the goal line beat Ingram through a screen. Schaefer's assist was his first in the NHL (19 games).

Draisaitl made it 5-2 at 13:46. Kapanen sent a centering pass from the left boards into the slot, where Draisaitl snapped it five-hole on Saros for his first even-strength goal since Dec. 6.

McDavid completed the hat trick at 19:03, tapping a pass from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins over Saros' blocker from in front for the 6-2 final. The assist was Nugent-Hopkins' 500th in the NHL.

“I’ve had a lot of really good players to pass the puck to,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “I’ve obviously been here a long time and played on some great teams with some great players.

“It just kind of shows the caliber of players I’ve played with.”

NOTES: Oilers forward Adam Henrique left the game at 6:36 of the first period after blocking a shot. “No official status, but I think he will be out for a little while," Knoblauch said. ... McDavid's point streak is tied for the third-longest of his career. ... McDavid scored his fourth career goal on a penalty shot, tying Evgenii Dadonov for the second-most among active players, behind only Brad Marchand (seven). ... Nugent-Hopkins became the sixth player in Oilers history with at least 500 assists.