Connor McDavid posted his sixth career hat trick in the Edmonton Oilers 6-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks Sunday night.
“I liked our game.” said McDavid. “I thought we were solid all over. Our PK (penalty kill) was great; power-play scores, too. Goaltending was real good when we needed them. Good effort by everyone.”
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins snuck a shot between John Gibson and the post to break the ice just 1:28 into the game. The Ducks came back three minutes later on a goal by Rickard Rakell. McDavid recorded his 400th career point later in the first, firing a wrist shot under Gibson’s pad.
The Oilers were in penalty trouble in the second period, spending eight of the first 13 minutes shorthanded. Not only did they kill all four penalties off, they extended their lead. Nugent-Hopkins sniped a power play goal, and Zack Kassian cut in five-on-five and tucked in his fifth of the season. Patrick Russell had an assist on the play for his first NHL point.
“When we go on the PK (penalty kill), we have a lot of pride and we just try to do our job, keep it simple, and be in shooting lanes,” said Russell. “And the last two games it’s been really good.”
Max Jones got one back for Anaheim early in the third. McDavid responded with a nifty shot from in tight over the blocker of Gibson. On an Oilers power play with less than seven minutes to go, McDavid fired home a shot from the right side to complete the hat trick.
Leon Draisaitl had four assists and leads the NHL with 34 points. Mikko Koskinen made 31 saves for the win in goal
The Oilers, 12-5-2, will play in San Jose on Tuesday.