Kane, McDavid combine for 5 goals, Oilers beat Predators 7-4

EDMONTON, Alberta -- — Evander Kane had a hat trick, Connor McDavid added two goals and two assists, and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Nashville Predators 7-4 on Tuesday night.

Leon Draisaitl finished with a goal and four assists, and Derek Ryan also scored for the Oilers (7-3-0), who have won five games in a row.

Draisaitl has 21 points through 10 games, and McDavid leads the league lead with 22 points

“It’s been good, obviously that is what we are paid to do, to produce offensively,” Draisaitl said. “With that being said, we are here to win a championship and look at the big picture.

“Him (McDavid) and I, we have had our awards and it is nice and we are proud of it, but we want the big prize. It is a good start for us as a group, which is way more important.”

Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg and Nino Niederreiter scored for the Predators (3-6-1), who have lost two in a row and seven of their last eight.

“The first period was kind of where we lost it,” said Forsberg, who was asked about the play of McDavid and Draisaitl. “They’re two of the top players in this league and I think we gave them a little too much room, especially at the start.

“When we give these guys time, they’re going to take advantage of it and it was a little too easy for them at times. You can’t give anyone in this league too much time, but especially not those guys.”

Nashville scored just 34 seconds into the game, as a pass deflected off a skate and on net for a stick save, but the rebound went straight to Ekholm for the easy goal.

Edmonton rebounded with three goals in just over seven minutes. Edmonton pulled even 4:14 in as Draisaitl extended his point streak to five games with a long pass to Kane, who proceeded to deke Predators goaltender Juuse Saros.

Three minutes later, Draisaitl sent a pass from behind the net to Kane, who fired a puck through traffic for his second goal of the contest and fourth of the season.

Just 26 seconds late, McDavid rifled a shot through Saros’ legs for his league-leading 10th of the season.

The Oilers made it 4-1 with 5 minutes left in the first period when Tyson Barrie sent a backhand pass into the paint for Ryan.

Edmonton added a power-play goal 7:26 into the second as McDavid picked the top corner for his second of the game and 11th goal in 10 games.

Nashville got a power-play goal of its own midway through the second as Johansen tipped Roman Josi's shot past Jack Campbell for his fourth of the year.

The Predators made it interesting five minutes into the third on a one-timer by Forsberg, making it 5-3.

The Oilers responded with another power-play goal. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins threaded the needle to Draisaitl, who scored his fifth of the season.

Nashville got another power-play goal on a deflection by Niederreiter. The Predators pulled Saros, which allowed Draisaitl to feed Kane for his fifth career hat trick.

NOTES

The Oilers are 8-0-1 in their last nine games against Nashville, coming on the heels of losing 13 straight to the Predators. … McDavid scored his 250th career goal on Tuesday and recorded his fifth multi-point game of the season. … Predator Matt Duchene notched his 400th career assist. … The only listed player out with injury for the game was Predator Mark Borowiecki (upper body).

UP NEXT

Nashville: At Calgary Flames on Thursday.

Edmonton: Host New Jersey Devils on Thursday.

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