McDavid had four assists for Edmonton while Peterka scored twice against Buffalo Sabres at Rogers Place on Thursday evening to reach 48 goals on his season for Edmonton Oilers, scoring six consecutive times against them for an 8-3 win that provided them with their 48th goal of 2018.
Oilers vs Sabres highlights
Hyman has already eclipsed 36 goals this season for an NHL career-high, tying him for second in scoring with Florida Panther’s Sam Reinhart, nine behind Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs (he already hit 36 last season). Hyman could hit 50 for the first time when the Oilers take on the Toronto Maple Leafs this Saturday!
“Obviously, it would be great,” Hyman responded when asked by The Post whether Hyman wanted to win in St Louis again this season. “Really though, what I really care about right now is winning there for real – which hasn’t happened since coming here, so it would be amazing if that could happen and win there again! “
Hyman 48th goal Oilers
Connor McDavid had four assists for Edmonton (42-221-4). Mattias Ekholm scored twice and assisted on one goal, and Leon Draisaitl netted one and recorded two helpers as part of an 11-1 performance over their past 12 contests, keeping Stuart Skinner from making 26 saves in total.
The Edmonton Oilers currently sit second in the Pacific Division, five points in front of the Los Angeles Kings and only six behind the Seattle Mariners.
“Everyone knows it is close to crunch time, and we cannot just lean into games without providing adequate answers and strategies,” Ekholm explained. “The first quarter was not great; all realized this. Our team is fairly mature in that everyone understands when our performance goes well or poorly – although sometimes feedback needs to be given and heard – I found whatever was said helpful.”
JJ Peterka scored twice while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 33 saves to lead the Sabres (33-33-5), who have suffered three consecutive road defeats.
Buffalo fell seven points back of Detroit for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference Stanley Cup Playoffs after it beat the New York Islanders 6-3 on Thursday night.
“This one’s clearly frustrating,” Sabres forward Tage Thompson lamented after their loss against the Lightning. “Our first and second periods played well enough; going into a tie game in the third period and trying to take control, they scored two goals, which pushed us behind and required us to chase from behind again.
“They get another one, and it becomes difficult for them to catch up, leading to lots of frustration that crept into our game at the very end.”
McDavid assists Oilers vs Sabres
Hyman made it 3-3 with 48 seconds remaining in the second period by deflecting an Ekholm point shot over Luukkonen for an equalizer.
Darnell Nurse gave the Oilers their first lead of the game at 4:38 of the third period when he snapped a shot from the point that beat Luukkonen (who lost his stick during play).
Draisaitl then sent Ekholm an indirect pass, and she sent out a shot from the slot that beat Luukkonen high glove side and gave Draisaitl a 5-3 lead at 5:40. Hyman would add her second goal at 15:18 to extend it even further and move up two positions into third.
Ryan McLeod made it 7-3 at 16:58 by passing one past Luukkonen from the right face-off dot.
Connor Brown made it six goals in a row to secure an 8-3 final. He scored on an offensive rebound with 10 seconds remaining to cap a 6-goal streak and set up this win for Team Canada.
McDavid assists Oilers vs Sabres
This season, Edmonton has outscored opponents 89-59 in the third period.
McDavid, Edmonton captain. Said they are finding ways to win games, but he would still like more control in each contest. Although winning and producing wins are good signs, more urgency would only strengthen them further, and his optimism was refreshingly clear: ‘We need wins now more than ever.”
“Now is the time of year when we must ramp up and prepare ourselves. With positions up for grabs, there remains plenty of playing room.”
At 1:38 of the first period, Peterka gave Buffalo its initial edge by receiving an Alex Tuch centring pass alone in front of the net and snapping past Skinner’s blocker to make a goal for Buffalo.
Rasmus Dahlin appeared to make it 2-0 at 12:47. Still, the Oilers successfully challenged for offside, and a video review determined Lukas Rousek preceded the puck into their zone before passing to him.
NHL game recap Oilers Sabres
Bowen Byram then misfired on a pass to Victor Olofsson in the slot, forcing Olofsson back towards Skinner before turning around and shooting past him for a 2-0 advantage at 16:34.
At 18:55, on a power play, Edmonton cut their deficit down to one goal at 2-1. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins took an Evan Bouchard pass from the blueline and skated toward the goal before dishing it back out to Draisaitl for a one-timer that went in between post and pad.
At 4:26 of the second period, Ekholm tied it 2-2 after entering with a toe drag in front of Byram before shooting over Luukkonen’s glove from the left circle.
Peterka put Buffalo ahead 3-2 at 16:56 with his second goal of the game 16:56 when took a centring pass from Connor Clifton and fired an off-target shot, only for it to slip under Skinner’s pad and come into contact.
“I wasn’t frustrated,” Peterka noted, “as I still tried scoring throughout, but eventually, things had to open up at some point, as they took advantage of nearly every opportunity that we provided them with.
Also Read:
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- Kopitar Leads Kings to Victory with Two Goals, Shutting Out Blackhawks
- Toffoli Nets First Two Goals with Jets in Shutout Win over Ducks
- NFL Star Aaron Donald Retires: A Look Back at His Remarkable Decade with the Rams
