The three-game sweep starts in Edmonton where the Oilers put together a solid effort from across the bench and thrashed the New Jersey Devils, 5-1.
Leon Draisaitl picked up a goal and two assists to help the Oilers.
“The last couple of games we’ve been playing really well, good hockey, and to finally get two points is huge for the confidence,” Draisaitl said. “We haven’t been getting the results we wanted, but at one point you know it has to come and this was a step in the right direction. It’s nice, it’s a lot of fun [for me], it’s the best league in the world. I play with some great players, and they make it easier for you.”
Draisaitl is a five-game point streak.
“I wouldn’t call it smoke and mirrors,” Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. “Smoke and mirrors is when you do it once every four or five games. He’s consistently doing it. He’s getting good help from his linemates, it’s been a real good line. Teddy has gone up there and complimented it well.”
Taylor Hall also added a goal and two assists.
Oscar Klefbom, Jordan Eberle and Mark Letestu also scored for Edmonton.
“It’s just a lot of confidence, every time he (Draisaitl ) has the puck, he’s poised, he’s patient and he’s making plays, it’s good to see,” Eberle said. “He had kind of a tough time last year and to come back and to rebound and to play as well as he is right now, it’s awesome. Especially with McDavid being out, he’s filled in really well.”
Anders Nilsson made 19 saves for the win and Keith Kinkaid took the loss on 22 saves.
In Calgary, Johnny Gaudreau scored the game-winner for the Flames as they edged the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-1.
“I like it,” Gaudreau said of the new OT format. “I think a lot of guys in our locker room like it. We’ve got a fast D-core that is good with the puck and we’ve got a lot of skilled offensive guys. I think we like it a lot.”
It was his second game-winning OT goal of the season.
“It seems like every time he’s on the ice, he’s so dynamic he can make things happen,” Calgary captain Mark Giordano said. “And if he gets that chance, he usually makes the other team pay.”
Sean Monahan scored in regulation and Karri Ramo made 18 saves for the win.
“We just altogether, our whole team, played a lot better than we did,” Gaudreau said. “It wasn’t our best effort Sunday in Chicago, and our team in the locker room knew we had to come a lot better prepared to play these guys. They’re the Stanley Cup champions. We needed a lot better effort than we did on Sunday.”
Scott Darling made 35 saves in taking the loss and Artem Anisimov scored for Chicago.
“They’re a good team,” said Darling, who made five saves in overtime before Gaudreau’s winner. “They create a lot of offense. They’ve got a lot of good players on that team. They made some nice plays tonight.
“You want to get two points. At the end of the day we battled hard and got one. We’ll go from there.”
In Brooklyn, Carey Price made his return to the Montreal Canadiens’ net a successful one as he made 33 saves to push the Habs to a 5-3 win over the New York Islanders.
“It’s a good league, and when you’re out of action for three weeks, it’s going to cost you a little bit,” Price said. “But tonight the guys played very well in front of me, put some pucks to the net. It’s a tough game, back-to-back games, but [we] came in here and got a good road win.”
New York peppered the Habs cage all night but Price’s first game in three weeks was solid.
“Carey was Carey Price,” Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said. “Even though he didn’t play for the last few weeks, the way he performed, you couldn’t tell. He was a true leader for us again tonight.”
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