McDavid’s Hat Trick Leads Oilers to 6-2 Victory Over Predators

The Edmonton Oilers (21-16-6) hosted the Nashville Predators (19-19-4) on Tuesday night (Jan. 6) from Rogers Place, in their first meeting of the season. This game saw the Oilers come away with the dominant 6-2 win. Here’s your game recap.

Game Recap

The Oilers opened the scoring on the power play 8:53 into the first period. Evan Bouchard found Connor McDavid with speed, and he cut through the defenders before tucking the puck past goaltender Juuse Saros for his 26th goal of the season. Edmonton took that lead into the intermission, holding a 12-9 shot advantage.

Edmonton took a 2-0 lead courtesy of a McDavid penalty shot 15:53 into the second period. The Oilers’ captain went in wide and made a move before elevating the puck upstairs, blocker-side. Then, 22 seconds later, the Oilers extended their lead. Curtis Lazar threw the puck on the net, and on the ensuing scramble in front, Lazar located the loose puck and jammed it past Saros.

The home team continued to pour it on late in the middle frame. Leon Draisaitl found Kasperi Kapanen in the slot, and his shot ricocheted off a body in front and past the netminder for his first of the season. Three quick goals gave the Oilers a 4-0 lead after two periods, holding a 16-7 shot advantage in the period, and 28-16 overall.

The Predators got on the board 3:48 into the third period. Nicolas Hague’s point shot was stopped, but Ryan O’Reilly pounced on the rebound, beating goaltender Connor Ingram for his 12th of the season. Then, Nashville scored another one 15 seconds later. Nick Blankenburg’s point shot found a lane through traffic, beating Ingram for his fifth of the season.

The Oilers answered back 13:46 into the final frame. Kapanen won a board battle and found Draisaitl in the slot, who beat Saros through the five-hole. Then, Edmonton made it 6-2 with under one minute left. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was down low and found McDavid, whose quick shot beat Saros for his 14th career hat trick, and Nugent-Hopkins’ 500th career assist.

Ingram stopped 24 of 26 shots for a .923 save percentage (SV%) in the win, while Saros stopped 37 of 43 shots for an .860 SV% in the loss.

The Oilers hit the road for a quick one-game stop on Thursday (Jan. 8) in Winnipeg to battle the Jets. Meanwhile, the Predators begin a four-game homestand against the New York Islanders the same day. These two teams play each other again next Tuesday (Jan. 13) in Nashville. Keep following The Hockey Writers for all your NHL content throughout the season.