Oilers ride Draisaitl's two goals past Blues

[February 01, 2020]  Leon Draisaitl scored twice to lead the Edmonton Oilers to a 4-2 victory over the visiting St. Louis Blues on Friday night.

Caleb Jones and Josh Archibald also scored for the Oilers, who are 6-1-1 in their last eight games. Goaltender Mikko Koskinen stopped 30 of 32 shots.

David Perron and Robert Thomas scored for the Blues, who are 1-5-1 in their last seven road games. Netminder Jake Allen made 31 saves.

The Oilers took a 2-0 lead less than six minutes into the game by scoring twice during a 17-second span.

First Draisaitl capitalized on a neutral zone turnover by taking a pass from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, flying in on left wing and blasting a shot past Allen.

Then Jones exploited an offensive-zone faceoff win to beat Allen with a shot through a screen from the left point.

The Oilers outshot the Blues 13-3 in the period and nearly expanded their lead. Sam Gagner rang one shot off the post and Ethan Bear hit another post in the final minute of the period.

Perron cut Edmonton's lead to 2-1 with a rebound conversion midway through the second period. Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo fired a shot from the right point and Perron -- from his knees and with his back to the net -- managed to sweep the loose puck past Koskinen.

Thomas tied the game 2:12 into the third period with the Blues applying heavy offensive zone pressure. After Thomas hit the post with one point-blank shot during the flurry, he buried his next one.

Blues goaltender Jake Allen (34) makes a save during warmup against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

But Draisaitl blew past Blues defenseman Justin Faulk to score off another rush and put the Oilers up 3-2. Archibald's shorthanded empty-net goal with 1:41 left clinched the game.

The Oilers played without 19-goal scorer James Neal, who was a late scratch due to a lower-body injury. Winger Patrick Russell replaced him in the lineup.

--Field Level Media

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