Draisaitl scores twice, adds assist to pace Oilers to win over Predators

Edmonton Oilers winger Corey Perry scores on Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros as defenseman Brady Skjei defends during NHL action on Oct. 31, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (George Walker IV/Associated Press)

Leon Draisaitl scored two goals and assisted another to lead the Edmonton Oilers to a 5-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night.

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Viktor Arvidsson, Corey Perry and Zach Hyman also scored, and Calvin Pickard made 26 saves for the Oilers, who have won three of their last four. Edmonton played its first game since losing team captain Connor McDavid to an ankle injury in the first period of Monday night’s 6-1 loss to the Blue Jackets.

Filip Forsberg scored, and Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators.

Playing in his first career NHL game, Edmonton’s Noah Philp picked up the secondary assist on Perry’s first-period goal for his first NHL point.

Takeaways

• Oilers: After scoring a career-high 54 goals last season, Hyman had not scored this season prior to beating Saros with 7:14 remaining in the game. With McDavid sidelined for the next 2-3 weeks, Thursday’s goal could jump-start Hyman’s production at a time when the Oilers need others to contribute on the scoresheet.
• Predators: Nashville was 3-0-1 in its last four games prior to Thursday night’s dreadful performance. If the Predators hope to climb out of their early-season hole, they need to find consistent scoring aside from Forsberg, who leads the team with five goals.