The Ottawa Senators snapped a five-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.
The Senators have won six road games in a row against the Oilers. They’ve taken 12 of their last 14 visits to Edmonton.
The Oilers had several chances in the first period and finally scored when forward Jujhar Khaira chipped in a pass from Leon Draisaitl. The Senators unsuccessfully challenged the play for offside.
The Oilers outshot the Sens 10-4 in the first.
LISTEN: Leon Draisaitl postgame
“I thought we were OK in the first — we were the better team,” Draisaitl said after the game. “We just can’t seem to find a way to play that over 60 minutes and you’re not going to beat anyone, probably not even an AHL team, like that.
“You have to play your game for 60 minutes and we didn’t do that tonight.”
“It wasn’t a great period, but you could have been more than 1-0 — we need to man up,” Senators coach D.J. Smith said. “We’re in the midst of a five-game losing streak and I didn’t think that was a great effort. But back to back, that’s a good hockey team and (Connor) McDavid went through all five guys a couple of times there, he’s a pretty special player.
“But we scored on our chances in the second period and certainly gave the bench some life.”
The Senators’ Artem Anisimov and Connor Brown scored 12 seconds apart early in the second. Edmonton native Tyler Ennis struck with 8:18 left in the period to make it 3-1 Senators.
“It’s always fun coming home and playing,” Ennis said. “Everybody that goes and plays in their hometown, it’s always fun with a lot of family and friends in the stands.
“It’s actually my first time scoring against Edmonton — I’m pretty sure — so it’s extra special tonight.”
“We gave up two poor goals and got them in the game. They’re a desperate team and we chased the rest of the game,” Oilers head coach Dave Tippett said. “We chased the game from there and made too many mistakes.
“We couldn’t outscore our mistakes.”
“Situations like that, the way the game played out, you don’t have a whole lot of time to think,” Craig Anderson said of the Senators. “Sometimes that’s a good thing. Just go out there and read and react, and you find yourself just getting back in the groove a little bit quicker that way.
LISTEN: Head Coach Dave Tippett speaks to loss
Mike Smith replaced Mikko Koskinen in the Oilers’ net. Koskinen allowed three goals on 12 shots. The Oilers clawed back to within one when Oscar Klefbom blasted a power-play point-shot past Ottawa netminder Craig Anderson with 2:23 remaining in the frame.
“We had an opportunity to take the game game in the second and we didn’t,” Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse said. “With every team in this league, you can’t take them for granted. You give them enough opportunities and they’re going to take the game from you. That’s what they did tonight.”
LISTEN: Defenceman Darnell Nurse reflects on loss
The Senators’ Anthony Duclair made it 4-2 90 seconds into the third, then Vladislav Namestnikov added some insurance with 8:13 to go.
“We’re all trying to play the right way,” Draisaitl said. “We’re all trying to score goals, we all want to defend, it’s just sometime we get away from our gameplan and that just can’t happen.”
The Oilers spent most of the final four minutes on the power play but couldn’t mount a charge.
Smith made the save of the night in the third, stretching his right arm across the goal line and trapping a Brady Tkachuk shot under his blocker.
The Oilers (17-10-3) will host Los Angeles on Friday.
–With files from 630 CHED’s Brenden Escott and Scott Johnston