Edmonton Oilers centre Connor McDavid (97) tries to push Ottawa Senators right wing Claude Giroux (28) off the puck during second period NHL hockey action in Ottawa on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman had a goal and an assist each to lead the Edmonton Oilers past the Ottawa Senators 6-3 on Saturday.
Brett Kulak had a pair of assists in the third period as the Oilers broke a 3-3 tie on their way to victory. Kulak made a great cross-ice pass into the Senators zone for Jesse Puljujarvi who beat Anton Forsberg in the Ottawa goal at 3:05 of the third period.
He then sent a pass in front that was literally chopped in by Derek Ryan 7:24. It was the Oilers second short-handed goal of the game.
With 5:23 to play in the third, during a goalmouth scramble that resulted in a power-play goal by Ryan Nugent Hopkins, Forsberg was injured and had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher with an apparent lower body injury. Mads Sogaard took over in goal for the Senators stopping all three shots he faced. Forsberg allowed six goals on 37 shots.
Ryan McLeod also scored for the Oilers (30-18-5) while Jack Campbell had 26 saves.
Jake Sanderson, Claude Giroux and Erik Brannstrom scored for the Senators (24-24-3), who saw their four-game winning streak come to an end.
McDavid scored the only goal of the first period when he banked a shot from behind the goal line off Forsberg and in at 2:18.
The teams combined for five goals in the second period including two at even strength, a power-play goal and a short-handed goal on the same penalty, as well as a penalty shot marker.
The fun started with Sanderson sliding one along the ice past Campbell just 21 seconds into the period to tie the game 1-1. At 1:44, after being hooked by Alex DeBrincat, Hyman scored on his penalty shot to give the Oilers a 2-1 lead.
With Derek Ryan in the penalty box for hooking, McDavid stole the puck from Thomas Chabot, did a little dance then sent a no-look backhand onto the stick of McLeod who beat Forsberg at 15:18 for a 3-1 Edmonton lead.
Just 17 seconds later though Giroux scored a power-play goal, and then at 17:58 Brannstrom scored his first goal in 121 games to tie the game 3-3 heading to the third period.
NOTES
Saturday’s game was the first of two regular-season meetings between the Senator and Oilers. The will meet again at Rogers Place in Edmonton on March 14 “¦ It’s been more than a calendar year since the two played each other before Saturday. The Senators were 3-2 winners in overtime in Ottawa on Jan. 31, 2022 “¦ With his first period goal, McDavid extended his career-high road point streak to 17 games “¦ Hyman reached the 300-point mark for his career with an assist on McDavid’s goal “¦ The Oilers were 1-4 on the power play. The Senators went 1-4.
UP NEXT
The Senators host the Calgary Flames on Monday before travelling to New York to take on the Islanders Tuesday night.
The Oilers will wrap up a four-game trip in Montreal with a Super Bowl matinee against the Canadiens before heading home to face the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2023.
