Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist as the Edmonton Oilers won their second game in a row in a strong start to the season, defeating the St. Louis Blues 3-1 on Thursday.
Tyler Pitlick and Milan Lucic also scored for the Oilers, who improved to 4-1-0 on the season.
Nail Yakupov replied for the Blues (3-1-1) in his return to Edmonton since he was traded to St. Louis earlier this month.
READ MORE: Yak is back: Oilers’ first overall draft pick from 2012 returns to Edmonton after trade
Watch below: After a rookie season in which he scored 17 goals, Nail Yakupov and the Edmonton Oilers just never seemed to be a good fit. A trade was bound to happen and he ended up with the St. Louis Blues. With the Blues set to take on the Oilers in Edmonton Thusday, Quinn Phillips took a look at how he’s adjusting with his new team.
There was no scoring in the first period, with the Blues getting 10 shots on Oilers goalie Cam Talbot and Edmonton directing eight shots on Jake Allen in the St. Louis net.
The Blues got on the board 3:37 into the second period as a scramble allowed Joel Edmundson to feed it in front to Yakupov. It was the second goal of the season for the former Oiler.
The Oilers pulled even three minutes later as Pitlick made a nifty deflection off a Andrej Sekera shot while being knocked flying to score his third of the season.
Edmonton made it 2-1 just 36 seconds into the third period as McDavid broke out of a two-game scoring drought by threading a pass through to Lucic in front. It was the big winger’s second goal of the year.
Both goaltenders made massive saves before the Blues came close to tying it up midway through the third. Yakupov had Talbot beat on a backhand shot, but hit the post.
McDavid put the game away with his fourth goal of the season into an empty net.
The Blues conclude a three-game road trip in Calgary on Saturday, while the Oilers are off until Sunday, when they play the Jets in the Heritage Classic outdoor game in Winnipeg.
Notes: It was the first of three meetings between the two teams this season. … Yakupov spent four seasons with the Oilers, recording 111 points in 252 games. … Blues forward Jaden Schwartz played his first game of the season after recovering from a hyperextended elbow. … Talbot made his fifth start of the season one day after his wife, Kelly, gave birth to twins.
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