2023-11-14 04:21:00
EDMONTON, Alta. – Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl both scored, and the Edmonton Oilers gave Kris Knoblauch a win in his first game behind the bench on Monday with a 4-1 win over the New York Islanders.
Draisaitl had four points (1-3), while McDavid scored his first goal in nine games, giving Albertans a two-goal lead, 1:56 following Zach Hyman gave Edmonton its first lead of the night.
It was the first time since his arrival in the NHL in 2015-2016 that the dangerous No. 97 started a game having scored only one point in his previous five outings.
The Oilers captain, author of 153 points in 2022-2023, now has three goals and nine assists to his record in 12 games.
Edmonton had not yet won in its home arena, its only local victory until then having been recorded during the Heritage Classic at Commonwealth Stadium.
Posted near Ilya Sorokin’s semi-circle, Hyman redirected a lifted pass from McDavid behind the Russian goaltender at 7:35 of the third period.
Knoblauch, McDavid’s former instructor in the junior ranks with the Erie Otters between 2012 and 2015, replaced Jay Woodcroft, who was fired on Sunday following his club started its season with a poor 3-9-1 record.
As recently as Sunday evening, Knoblauch was at the helm of the Hartford Wolfpack in the American Hockey League.
One would have thought that the Islanders (5-6-3) were going to tarnish this first night at Rogers Place, as Mathew Barzal served a magnificent wrist shot to Stuart Skinner in the 40th second of play.
Author of a goals once morest average of 3.53 and an efficiency of .861 before this match, Skinner rejected 33 New York shots.
He had lost only once in his previous start as well, a 4-1 victory once morest the Seattle Kraken.
Evander Kane completed the scoring in an empty cage at 17:33, during a penalty kill. Draisaitl then got his fourth point of the match.
It was the fourth straight defeat in regulation time for the Isles, who will continue their week on opposing ice rinks in Vancouver (Wednesday), Seattle (Thursday) and Calgary (Saturday).
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