The Edmonton Oilers exploded for four goals in the third period to register a 6-3 road win over the New Jersey Devils Thursday night.
“The second period obviously wasn’t what we wanted, Oilers Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said after the game. “They came out and scored early in the period, but I thought we did a lot of good things in the second period. We didn’t score the goals, but I thought we deserved a better fate. Obviously the third period was much better. I don’t know if we had as much offensive zone time — obviously the goals came — but I was just happy with our guys.”
The Oilers, who snapped a three-game losing streak, flew out of the gate with a goal from Ryan McLeod after just 24 seconds. They kept the pressure on and struck again when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins banged in a rebound. That was it for Devils goalie Akira Schmid, who was pulled after allowing two goals on six shots in 5:24. New Jersey woke up after that and got on the board when Dawson Mercer sniped his eighth on a three-on-two.
Despite being outshot 18-6 in the second, the Devils scored both goals in the period. Jonas Siegenthaler floated a long shot past a screened Calvin Pickard early in the session. Timo Meier jammed in a loose puck on a three-on-two to make it 3-2.
The Oilers erupted for three goals in the span of 1:09 early in the third. Connor McDavid outwaited Vitek Vanecek and flicked in his twelfth. Leon Draisaitl stole a pass in front of the Devils net and deposited a backhand. Then Adam Erne stormed down the right side and tucked in his first with the Oilers. McLeod deposited his second of the night halfway through the third.
“The message in the room was kind of just stay the same,” McLeod said. “I thought we we’re doing good enough things to win the game and just came out and got some good bounces and took the game over.”
Pickard made 23 saves to improve to 4-0 in his career against the Devils.
“I didn’t love my game to be honest,” Pickard said. “I was kind of booting some pucks a little bit. There were some pucks that found their way through traffic, but I liked how I stuck with it.”
The Oilers (14-15-1) will visit the New York Rangers on Friday. You can listen to the game live on 630 CHED, beginning with The Faceoff Show at 4 p.m. The actual game starts at 5:30 p.m.
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