In Edmonton, the early slump of the Oilers continued on Saturday night in a 5-2 loss to the Nashville Predators.
Ryan O’Reilly hit for a hat trick and four points in the win.
“We’re connected. We’re doing the right things and just kind of moving our feet and the puck,” O’Reilly said of he and linemates Forsberg and Gustav Nyquist. “And I thought we did a great job of supporting each other.”
Kevin Lankinen made 33 saves in the win.
“He kept us in it, especially a couple of shifts there where we knew we needed him,” Predators coach Andrew Brunette said. “I thought he was calm, I thought he was quiet, he made some big saves. Even when chaos was going around him, I thought he did a good job of keeping within himself.
Darnell Nurse scored off the power play midway through the first period to give the Oilers a lift and a 1-0 lead.
It lasted all of 25 seconds until Filip Forsberg scored to tie the game, 1-1.
“We were playing against [Connor McDavid’s] line and it’s always tough,” O’Reilly said. “… I think that was a massive play by ‘Fil,’ that first goal, especially because we kind of started flat tonight. But he steps up, makes a big play and it kind of sparks us. We found our groove from there.”
Nashville improved to 5-6-0.
O’Reilly hit for his first of the game with 23 seconds gone in the middle frame; he posted his second off the power play at 3:24 for a 3-1 lead to the Predators.
Zach Hyman scored five minutes into the middle frame to drag the Oilers back to within in one at 3-2.
“We go into every game thinking we are going to win,” Hyman said. “So when it doesn’t happen, obviously you are not happy. It seems like it is continuing to happen. It is not fun. We know how good we can be and we know what is causing us to be in this spot. There is no magic pill. We just have to go out there and fix it.
“That is the frustrating part is that we have yet to fix those errors that continue to come up in our game. We have the recipe. We know what to do. We just have to go out there and do it.”
Ten minutes later, Novak pushed for the Preds to make it 4-2, and seemingly take all the wind out of the Oilers’ sails.
“I like when we put up five (goals), but to only let in two against that group is pretty remarkable,” Brunette said. “I mean, they’re probably one of the highest octane offenses in the League with the best player in hockey (McDavid), and I thought we did a good job.”
O’Reilly finished his hat trick in the third for the 5-2 final.
The Oilers dropped to 2-7-1.
“I thought we lost a lot of puck battles today,” Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said. “Didn’t like seeing that. I thought our puck play wasn’t good enough today. To a man not good enough, from everybody. The only way forward is to stick together. So, that’s No. 1. Stick together and work your way through it.”
Jack Campbell made 29 saves in the loss.
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