Oilers rout Coyotes

In Edmonton, the Arizona Coyotes disappearing act continued with a road show on Saturday.  The Oilers pasted the Coyotes, 7-3.

Mike Smith made 27 saves for the win.

It was a big game for Riley Sheahan who potted one goal and had four points on the night.

“It was a fun game, one of those where you’re getting the bounces and the puck feels good on your stick,” Sheahan said. “I thought our line [Sam Gagner and Alex Chiasson] did a good job playing in the O zone and creating some chances. I think just supporting our top guys, they get such a heavy load on their shoulders, it’s nice to provide some secondary scoring, and I think we’ve been doing a good job of that lately. Tonight was fun.”

Connor McDavid had two goals in the win.

“I thought we came out slow from the beginning and gave up a couple bad goals, stuff like that,” Coyotes captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson said. “Obviously, we’ve been struggling a little bit when we don’t feel 100 per cent and don’t have our legs, but we’ve got to find a way to stick around in games and find ways to get points out of it. So, it’s a tough one. They wanted it a little bit more today.”

Ekman-Larsson, Taylor Hall and Christian Dvorak scored for the Coyotes.

“It was a couple of mistakes, I mean, they had 10 shots and they had five goals that are in the back of your net,” Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. “Some are preventable, a couple of mismanaged pucks from a couple of people and obviously a couple saves here that you want and all of a sudden, you’re chasing the game. It’s tough to chase a game when you’re down three or 4-0.”

Kailer Yamamoto, Josh Archibald, Joakim Nygard, and Josh Archibald  also scored for the Oilers.

“This is really big especially going into the break, it’s a good feeling, everybody is happy and morale is up,” Archibald said. “Even in the standings, to be able to get this win and come out on top, it’s a good feeling tonight.”

[WATCH: All Oilers vs. Coyotes highlights]

Antti Raanta got the start for Arizona but was given the hook in the second intermission. He yielded six goals and made 12 saves.

“It’s going to take a lot of hard work the last 41 games, and we know that,” Ekman-Larsson said. “We’re in a good spot still, it’s just a matter of keep winning hockey games and keep getting better. That’s what we want to focus on when we get back after the break.”

Adin Hill had eight saves in the mop up role in the third period.