Nugent-Hopkins scores in 1,000th game, Oilers shut out Blues

EDMONTON -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored in his 1,000th NHL game, and Connor Ingram made 27 saves for the Edmonton Oilers in a 5-0 win against the St. Louis Blues at Rogers Place on Sunday.

“I haven’t scored in a couple of weeks, too. It was obviously fun to do that on a night like tonight,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “It’s hard to put into words right now, but it was a fun night and I thought the guys played great, and [Ingram] played outstanding."

It was Ingram’s first shutout since March 8, 2024, when he played for the Arizona Coyotes.

“I think it went as good as a night like tonight can go,” Ingram said. “It's a big day for [Nugent-Hopkins], a big day for the organization, and everything seemed to click.

“I mean, playing your 1,000th game and you score the game-winner? It doesn't get much better than that.”

Zach Hyman had two goals and an assist, and Vasily Podkolzin had a goal and an assist for the Oilers (25-17-8), who were beginning an eight-game homestand after defeating the Vancouver Canucks 6-0 on Saturday. Connor McDavid and Mattias Ekholm each had two assists.

Jordan Binnington made 23 saves for the Blues (19-22-8), who had won two in a row.

“We didn’t play good enough or hard enough in front of [Binnington], and the reality of it is we’re leaving him hanging out to dry this year," St. Louis captain Brayden Schenn said. "... When you give up too many goals and don’t score enough, it’s a combo, obviously, that you don’t want. We just weren’t physical tonight and didn’t play hard enough in front of [Binnington].”

Nugent-Hopkins put Edmonton ahead 1-0 on a power play at 5:55 of the first period. He took a short pass from Evan Bouchard and beat Binnington blocker side with a wrist shot from the left circle.

“I took a penalty and gave the best power play in the League an opportunity to get ahead, which they did,” Schenn said.

Andrew Mangiapane made it 2-0 at 11:52, quickly burying a rebound into an open net after Binnington stopped Curtis Lazar's initial attempt with his left pad.

Hyman pushed the lead to 3-0 at 18:43 of the first, deflecting Ekholm's slap shot from the point.

Hyman then made it 4-0 with his second goal of the game at 10:52 of the second period. He received a cross-slot pass from McDavid and scored with a one-timer from the left circle that deflected in off the far post after hitting the stick of Colton Parayko.

Podkolzin extended the lead to 5-0 at 1:19 of the third period. McDavid got around Blues defenseman Tyler Tucker, chased down his own dump-in along the right boards, and then despite falling to his knees, he was still able to spin and send a backdoor pass to Podkolzin at the left post.

“Connor McDavid is the best player in the world. He showed it again tonight," Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. "A big part of our game plan, a big part of everyone’s game plan, is how do you shut him down? He’s hard to shut down. He leads the League in scoring. With that being said, I didn’t think our checking skills and our awareness were as good as they needed to be to shut him down.”

Oilers forward Kasperi Kapanen left with 3:46 remaining in the first period after losing an edge and sliding into the end boards behind Edmonton's net.

“We don’t know how long it is. It certainly isn’t as bad as when he hurt it before,” said Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch, who was referencing the knee injury that caused Kapanen to miss 36 games earlier this season. “I’m not sure if it’s the same thing or whatever, but he seems like he’s in good spirits. The medical staff hasn’t done full testing, but I think he’ll be returning not immediately, but it’s not going to be a long-term thing.”

Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist had to be helped off the ice at 7:58 of the third period after colliding with McDavid along the boards.

“He got a cut just above the ankle. Luckily it did not touch his Achilles,” Montgomery said. “So, it’s just going to be now how long he’s out. He’s day-to-day. We know the cut was deep. I don’t know how long that takes until he’s back and has the flexibility in his ankle without hurting the cut.”

NOTES: Nugent-Hopkins became the 10th player in League history to score in both his NHL debut and his 1,000th game. ... Hyman has eight points (six goals, two assists) in his past five games. ... Podkolzin has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his past eight games.