The Edmonton Oilers started a three-game series against the Ottawa Senators with a 3-2 win Monday night at Rogers Place.
Evgenii Dadonov scored on the Senators’ first shot of the game, beating Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen from a bad angle 56 seconds in.
“It’s a long game and stuff happens so you can’t get rattled by that,” Oilers forward Kyle Turris said after the game.
Edmonton forward Kailer Yamamoto evened it up by deflecting a Darnell Nurse point shot six minutes later.
On an Oilers power play in the second, Koskinen launched a pass to Connor McDavid, who sent it ahead to Alex Chiasson. Chiasson notched his fifth of the season to make it 2-1.
“It’s been a work in progress here the last three years as a group,” Chiasson said.
“We’ve added some key pieces to our group, and I think we’re learning on a nightly basis how to play those games, which is good to see because it means our group stays in the fight.”
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Later, Turris sent in Leon Draisaitl, who snapped a shot past Senators netminder Joey Daccord to snuff out an eight-game goalless drought.
“I haven’t been playing well so I’ve got to turn things around,” Turris said.
“I feel like I’ve been having better jump lately and I thought I played a bit better tonight.”
“It’s good to see him feeling good when he has the puck and finding ways to make plays and finding ways to make those plays count,” Oilers head coach Dave Tippett said.
Ottawa rookie Tim Stutzle put a shot under the crossbar late in the frame to bring the Sens within one.
McDavid had a breakaway with 5:15 to go in third but was denied by Daccord.
The Sens pulled Daccord for an extra attacker with 2:30 remaining but couldn’t find the tying goal.
Koskinen made 26 saves for the win. McDavid had two assists to get to 45 points on the season.
The Oilers (16-11) are 5-0 against Ottawa this season. The two teams meet again Wednesday night.
“They’re a really competitive team and if you’re not willing to work, and you’re not willing to work for 60 minutes, they’re going to take advantage of that,” Tippett said of the Sens.
–With files from 630 CHED’s Brenden Escott
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