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 Centers Anton Lander and Leon Draisaitl scored goals 55 seconds
apart in the third period as the Oilers snapped a seven-game losing
skid with a 3-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Sunday.
Defenseman Brandon Davidson also recorded a goal for the Oilers, who
won only one game in their previous 11 outings, and had lost 8-1 to
the Islanders earlier in February.
The Oilers lost five in a row on a homestand before a pair of 2-1
road losses to the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks that
seemed to start Edmonton back in the right direction.
"Obviously, the homestand after we beat Toronto was really
disappointing," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. "Our last nine
periods have been good, and that's a reflection on them that their
effort level wasn't good enough before. Give them credit for
responding."
Lander scored his first goal since March 16, 2015.
"It's been a tough time for me, both mentally and physically," he
said. "More importantly, though, we got a big win, too. We've been
playing pretty good the last two games, and I think the group needed
the win to show what we needed to win games. It was nice to get the
first goal, but also the win."
Center Casey Cizikas scored for the Islanders, who saw a three-game
winning streak end.
"I didn't think we had a good first period, but I thought the second
and third we did a better job of getting pucks in deep and working
them down low and getting pucks to the net," Cizikas said. "We just
have to score on our opportunities when we have them."
New York left winger Matt Martin added, "We probably played our best
hockey in the third period, but you can't expect to win games
playing 20 minutes of hockey."
Oilers goalie Cam Talbot stopped 36 of the 37 shots he faced, while
Islanders goaltender Jaroslav Halak made 23 saves.
Edmonton (23-34-7) outshot New York 6-5 in the scoreless opening
frame, but the Isles (33-20-7) had the best opportunity as left
winger Nikolay Kulemin hit a post in the final minute.
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The game remained without a goal until the 17:43 mark late in the
second. A shot by New York defensemen Nick Leddy struck Oilers
defenseman Adam Clendening high in the shoulder, and Cizikas was
there to score on a spin-around shot from in close that landed next
to the sprawling Edmonton player.
The Oilers tied the game midway through the third from an unlikely
source, as Lander scored on a shot through traffic. It was Lander's
first goal of the season in 53 games played.
Edmonton took the lead less than a minute later. Right winger Zack
Kassian played the role of nuisance in front, allowing Draisaitl to
swoop in and swat in a puck lying in the blue paint.
The Oilers took a two-goal lead with 3:03 left in the contest as
Davidson took a feed from right winger Jordan Eberle and blasted it
past Halak.
NOTES: Both teams return to the ice Tuesday. The Islanders play the
fifth game of a season-high, seven-game road trip in Vancouver, and
while the Oilers head to Buffalo to face the Sabres. ... The only
previous meeting between the two teams this season was an 8-1
Islanders win on Feb. 7 in New York. ... The Oilers were without D
Oscar Klefbom (lower body), D Andrew Ference (hip), D Eric Gryba
(knee) and C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (hand), although Nugent-Hopkins
took the morning skate for the first time since Jan. 18. ... The
Islanders played without D Calvin de Haan (lower body) and C Mikhail
Grabovski (upper body). ... Islanders D Ryan Pulock made his NHL
debut after recording seven goals and 24 points in 51 games with AHL
Bridgeport. He finished with a minus-1 rating in 14:46 of ice time.
... The Oilers had a new look after three trades on Saturday that
saw G Anders Nilsson, D Justin Schultz and RW Teddy Purcell sent to
new teams.
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