Draisaitl has 2 goals, 2 assists as Oilers beat Kraken 5-2

Seattle Kraken’s Adam Larsson (6) skates past as Edmonton Oilers’ Duncan Keith (2) and Leon Draisaitl (29) as they celebrate Keith’s goal during Monday’s contest. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)
Subscribe Now Choose a package that suits your preferences.
Start Free Account Get access to 7 premium stories every month for FREE!
Already a Subscriber? Current print subscriber? Activate your complimentary Digital account.

EDMONTON, Alberta — Leon Draisaitl had two goals and two assists, and the Edmonton Oilers extended their strong start to the season with a 5-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Monday night.

Duncan Keith, Kyle Turris and Kailer Yamamoto also scored for the Oilers, who improved to 7-1-0. Mikko Koskinen stopped 27 shots.

Jaden Schwartz and Carson Soucy each had a goal for the expansion Kraken (3-6-1), who have lost two straight.

Joey Daccord made 18 saves for Seattle.

Edmonton scored on its first shot of the game two minutes in when Tyson Barrie’s drive deflected off Draisaitl’s skate and past Daccord.

Seattle responded a couple of minutes later as Schwartz scored his first goal of the season, battling to split the defense and then sending a backhand through Koskinen’s legs.

Two minutes after that, the Oilers regained the lead on their dangerous power play. Zach Hyman sent a pass across for Draisaitl, who scored his seventh of the season into a wide-open net. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins picked up his NHL-leading 11th assist on the play.

The Oilers went up 3-1 early in the second period when Keith crept up to deposit the rebound of Draisaitl’s shot.

Seattle clawed back within one with 1:20 left in the second as Soucy joined the rush and picked the top corner.

Edmonton made it 4-2 three minutes into the third as Devin Shore made a nice feed to Turris at the side of the net for the tap-in.

Draisaitl got his fourth point with 7 1/2 minutes to play as he sent Yamamoto in and he made a nice move to score his first goal in 20 games and just his second in his last 36.

NOTES

The Kraken were without leading scorer Jared McCann, who remained sidelined due to COVID-19 protocols. Also absent from the Seattle lineup were Chris Driedger (undisclosed), Marcus Johansson (undisclosed), Colin Blackwell (lower body) and Mason Appleton (lower body). … The lone player injured for the Oilers is goalie Mike Smith, who did participate in the morning practice. … Keith played his 1,200th NHL game. … Edmonton came in with the top-ranked power play in the NHL, clicking at an unthinkable 47.8% clip. The Kraken’s power play was 30th at 10.3%.

UP NEXT

Kraken: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.

Oilers: Host the Nashville Predators on Wednesday night.

LIGHTNING 3, CAPITALS 2

TAMPA, Fla. — Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves, Anthony Cirelli had a goal and two assists, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat Washington 3-2 Monday night, ending the Capitals’ eight-game season-opening point streak.

Alex Killorn and Brayden Point also scored for Tampa Bay, and Taylor Raddysh picked up his first NHL point by assisting on Point’s goal

Brett Leason got his first NHL goal and Conor Sheary also scored for the Capitals, who came in 5-0-3. Vitek Vanecek stopped 23 shots.

Washington star Alex Ovechkin had his season-opening eight-game point streak (nine goals, six assists) end. He remains two goals away from tying Brett Hull (741) for fourth place all-time.

BLACKHAWKS 5, SENATORS 1

CHICAGO — Patrick Kane had three goals and an assist in his return to the lineup, and Chicago got its first win of the season.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves in another solid performance as the Blackhawks improved to 1-7-2 in front of a half-full United Center. Brandon Hagel scored twice, and captain Jonathan Toews had three assists.

Kane was sidelined for the previous four games because of the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. His seventh hat trick in the regular season gave him 408 career goals, moving him ahead of Steve Larmer for third on the franchise list. Kane also jumped over Denis Savard for third on the Blackhawks’ points list with 1,097.

Matt Murray made 26 stops for Ottawa in his first game since he was kneed in the head during a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers on Oct. 23. Alex Formenton stopped Fleury’s bid for his 68th career shutout with his second of the season 1:41 into the third.