Draisaitl gets hat trick as Oilers beat Senators 7-1

EDMONTON, Alberta — Leon Draisaitl had three goals and two assists, and the Edmonton Oilers pounded the Ottawa Senators 7-1 on Wednesday night.

Connor McDavid added a goal and two assists for Edmonton, which earned its third straight win. Darnell Nurse had a goal and an assist, and Jujhar Khaira and James Neal also scored. Tyson Barrie had three assists.

Draisaitl’s third career hat trick helped the Oilers improve to 6-0-0 against the Senators this season. The teams finish their three-game series on Friday night.

Matt Murray stopped 29 shots for Ottawa, and Evgenii Dadonov spoiled Mike Smith’s shutout bid midway through the third period. Ottawa’s D.J. Smith had a forgettable night in his 100th game as an NHL head coach.

Edmonton coach Dave Tippett, who reunited McDavid and Draisaitl on his team’s top line at the start of Monday’s 3-2 victory over Ottawa, stuck with that combination and was rewarded. The league’s No. 1 and 2 scorers helped the Oilers put together a fast start.

Nurse opened the scoring with his seventh of the season 3:52 into the first period. After Khaira made it 2-0 at 5:57, Draisaitl scored a power-play goal and McDavid made it 4-0 with his 16th goal with 6:34 left in the first.

Draisaitl added another power-play goal 7:01 into the second and scored his 14th goal at 7:35 in the third.

NOT BAD AT ALL

Smith stopped 21 shots to improve to 8-2-0 this season. He was working on his 42nd career shutout before Dadonov scored his 100th career goal 11:11 into the third.

UP NEXT

After Friday’s series finale, the Senators open a six-game homestand Sunday night against Toronto, and the Oilers begin a three-game trip at Vancouver on Saturday night.


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