The sweep of the NHL schedule form Saturday night starts in Brooklyn where the Edmonton Oilers ended a three-game skid with a 4-3 shootout win over the New York Islanders.
Cam Talbot (#33)
Mark Letestu was credited with the only goal in the skills competition to give the edge to the Oilers.
WATCH: All Oilers vs. Islanders highlights
“You talk about growth, last year in this building [on Feb. 7], 8-1 loss,” Letestu said. “This time we come out slow like we did then but found a way to battle back. That shows the growth within the room. A lot of guys in this room were part of that game, but found a way.”
Nick Leddy, Shane Prince and Casey Cizikas. were the goal scorers for the Isles who held a 2-0 lead on the Oilers in the game.
Cam Talbot made 30 saves for the win.
“There’s a lot of talent on the other side there and for us not to give up a whole lot on the penalty kill was huge,” Talbot said. “We did a [heck] of a job battling back and it’s going to go a long way for the confidence of our group.”
The Oilers rallied twice from the 2-0 deficit and 3-2 deficit on goals from Patrick Maroon, Leon Draisaitl and Milan Lucic .
Jaroslav Halak made 20 saves in the loss.
In Toronto, the Vancouver Canucks came out as an old, tired team in a 6-3 loss to the Maple Leafs.
After a 4-0-0 start to the season, the Canucks have now lost eight straight to fall to 4-7-1.
“We’re going to have to use any energy we can,” Canucks goaltender Ryan Miller said. “We’re having a rough go and we can use any energy to try and get out of it.”
WATCH: All Canucks vs. Maple Leafs highlights
Tyler Bozak had two goals for Toronto.
“I thought we played pretty well. [Andersen] made some big saves for us again,” Bozak said. “[Nazem Kadri] got a big goal for us early that kind of boosted us and we made some good plays. The puck was able to find the back of the net. Overall I thought we had a pretty good effort tonight.”
Nazem Kadri, Mitchell Marner, Nikita Soshnikov, and Jake Gardiner also scored for the Leafs.
Frederik Andersen and Miller were ejected from the game in a penalty-filled third period on misconducts.
“We came out and scored instead of falling behind,” Andersen said. “I think we defended, and playing offense is a good defense sometimes. We came and took it to them and got some extra goals.”
In Dallas, the Chicago Blackhawks edged the Stars, 3-2, in a tight match.
The win was the Hawks’ fifth straight as Chicago has quietly climbed the division ladder.
“I don’t think anyone realizes we’re on a little streak like that,” Chicago captain Jonathan Toews said. “We’re just focusing on trying to improve every single day. Know that every day, whether we win or not, we always look to the things we want to improve on.”
Patrick Kane got the game-winner on the power play at 7:40 of the second period..
Richard Panik and Ryan Hartman added goals for Chicago.
Corey Crawford (#50)
Corey Crawford made 31 saves to take the win.
Dallas remains a banged up team but kept it close on goals from Brett Ritchie and Curtis McKenzie.
“We’ve got to finish a few of those plays. Hopefully have the same type of energy. I thought the first and third period we had real good energy,” Stars head coach Lindy Ruff said.
Jason Spezza left the game in the second period with a lower body injury.
The two teams play Sunday in Chicago to complete the home and home set.
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