Oilers win 5th straight, defeat Blackhawks to move into tie for 1st in Pacific

EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers won their fifth straight game and moved into a tie for first place in the Pacific Division with a 3-1 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks at Rogers Place on Thursday.

Edmonton is tied in points with the Anaheim Ducks, who has one game in hand.

“Just putting the 'X' beside our name is the main thing,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who added an assist to his League-leading 126 points (43 goals, 83 assists), said. “Just getting in, that’s our main focus. Where we’re seeded, I’m not too concerned about it.

“We can start a series on the road, we can start a series at home -- we’re pretty comfortable either way. We just have to get in.”

Adam Henrique, Matt Savoie and Vasily Podkolzin each scored, Tristan Jarry made 17 saves for the Oilers (39-28-9), whose five-game winning streak is a season high.

“I certainly liked our start,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “In the first period, I thought we maybe could have had a nice lead, a nice cushion. Their goalie made some nice saves, we hit some goalposts, and then they had the power play and they got some momentum there.

“Jarry made one really good save at the end of the first period. As the game went on, I thought we got away from the things that we’ve been doing well. Maybe just not enough respect for Chicago, we were just sitting back and just not playing the way we’ve been playing the previous few games.”

Nick Lardis scored for the Blackhawks (27-35-14), who have lost five in a row and were eliminated from playoff contention. Spencer Knight made 31 saves but was briefly removed from the game at 3:18 of the second period to deal with an equipment issue. He was replaced by Arvid Soderblom, who allowed one goal on five shots before Knight returned at 8:15 of the period.

“Grade A’s wise, we had some really good looks. Guys alone, eyeball to eyeball with the goalie, and we don’t score. So, I wouldn’t say we didn’t have opportunities, I would say we need to shoot more for sure,” Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said. “They had a bigger volume of chances, some of that comes from getting pucks around the net more than we did. So, I don’t think it was our best night from an execution standpoint, just simple passes."

After a scoreless first period, Henrique put the Oilers ahead 1-0 at 5:32 of the second. Darnell Nurse knocked the puck away from Blackhawks forward Andre Burakovsky in the neutral zone and Jack Roslovic came up with the loose puck before sending Henrique in on a breakaway. Henrique deked in and sent an initial backhand off Soderblom's left pad, before raising the rebound up and over it.

“It felt good. It’s not something I’ve been putting extra pressure on to do, but it’s certainly nice to go out and get one, and finally get back on the board,” Henrique said of scoring his first goal since Oct. 23 against the Montreal Canadiens. “I was just trying to make the play. I didn’t make the first one I wanted to, but I was able to jump on the rebound and find a way to get that one. I tried to get an assist on it too, but I don’t know if that will work.”

Savoie tallied his 15th goal of the season to make it 2-0 on the power play at 12:13. He took a pass from McDavid to the side of the net before sending it through the crease and in off the skate of Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic. McDavid's assist extended his point streak (six goals, five assists) to six games.

“I thought we had a really good start tonight. We obviously didn’t give them many looks in the first two periods, and did a really good job limiting their shots and ultimately limiting their chances,” Savoie, who has 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 18 games, said. “We’re pushing, obviously. We’re focusing on one game at a time right now, and when we get to the playoffs, it’s focusing on that. We’re really excited and focusing on one game at a time.”

Savoie appeared to push the lead to 3-0 at 17:34, taking a crossing pass on the rush from McDavid and beating Knight glove side. But a video review on a coach’s challenge by Chicago determined the play was offside.

Lardis made it 2-1 at 5:06 of the third period, picking up the rebound of a slap shot from the point by Connor Bedard. Lardis' snap shot went off Jarry’s pad and bounced in off of the skate of Oilers defenseman Connor Murphy.

Lardis left the game with four minutes left in the third period after getting hit by a slap shot from the point by Chicago center Teuvo Teravainen. Blashill did not have an update on Lardis' status following the game.

“We’ll see tomorrow. I think he’s going to be ... Well, I don’t know," He said of Lardis. "Let’s wait until tomorrow and see where he’s at.”

Podkolzin scored into an empty net at 18:59 for the 3-1 final.

NOTES: McDavid’s goal streak ended at five games with six goals, while his point streak extended for 11 points. ... Edmonton is 29-5-5 when they score first. ... The Oilers previously had a season-high winning streak of three games (Jan. 24 - Jan. 29).