McDavid's point streak hits 15 in Oilers win against Senators

OTTAWA --Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists to extend his point streak to 15 games for the Edmonton Oilers, who defeated the Ottawa Senators 6-3 at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday.

McDavid, who leads the NHL with 97 points (42 goals, 55 assists) in 53 games, has 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) during the point streak. He joined Wayne Gretzky as the only players in NHL history to have multiple 15-game point streaks in multiple seasons.
"I mean, he's the best player in the world, so he pushes the envelope," Edmonton forward Zach Hyman said of McDavid. "I don't know if I'm surprised necessarily, but I think you're always kind of amazed."

Hyman had a goal and an assist, and Leon Draisaitl had two assists for the Oilers (30-18-5), who are 9-0-2 in their past 11 games. Jack Campbell made 26 saves for his eighth straight victory.
"Winning teams get contributions up and down the lineup through all three areas of the game: the power play, the penalty kill and 5-on-5," McDavid said. "We've been doing that and getting good goaltending, as well."
Erik Brannstrom scored his first goal in 121 games, and Claude Giroux extended his point streak to six games for the Senators (24-24-3), who had won four straight.
Anton Forsberg allowed six goals on 37 shots before leaving with an injury with 5:23 remaining. Forsberg had to be stretchered off the ice after Hyman was pushed into him during a scramble in the crease.
"It's awful," Hyman said. "I mean, you hear him going down and you hear him in pain, but you can't do anything. I literally couldn't do anything. I'm stuck on him because there's a guy who's on top of me pushing me in.
"It's not a fun play to be a part of. I almost stopped playing there because I locked eyes with him and he was just in pain. Hope he gets better soon. Just a tough, tough play."
Ottawa coach D.J. Smith did not have an update on Forsberg after the game. Mads Sogaard made three saves in relief in his season debut.
"Never a pleasant sight," Senators captain Brady Tkachuk said. "He's been great for us all year. No update, but I hope it's not as severe as it looks. Really hoping, really praying that it's not too bad."
McDavid gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead at 2:18 of the first when he banked the puck in off Forsberg from below the goal line.
Jake Sanderson scored 21 seconds into the second period to tie it 1-1. Skating in as the trailer on a rush, he received a cross-ice pass from Mathieu Joseph and scored five-hole with a wrist shot.
"I don't know how many great things I could say about that guy," Tkachuk said of Sanderson. "He changes our team, he changes our complexion, he's already unbelievable as a 20-year-old. I can only imagine the things he's going to accomplish throughout his career."
Hyman scored with a backhand deke on his first career penalty shot to put the Oilers back in front 2-1 at 1:44.

Ryan McLeod extended it to 3-1 at 15:18 with a short-handed goal. McDavid stole the puck from Thomas Chabot and fed McLeod with a no-look backhand pass for a quick shot from the slot.
"I was just kind of on Chabot right away and just trying to get the puck back somehow and [create] a chance," McDavid said. "Got it back, and I didn't like the look I was going to get, tried to find [McLeod], saw him skating up the ice really hard and just tried to find him on the back side."
Giroux scored 17 seconds later on the same power play to cut it to 3-2, redirecting a centering pass from Ridly Greig. Giroux has 10 points (six goals, four assists) during his point streak.

Brannstrom tied it 3-3 at 17:58 with a wrist shot from the top of the left face-off circle. It was his first goal since Feb. 25, 2021, ending the longest regular-season goal drought in Senators history.
"I thought he did some good things out there," Smith said. "I thought he skated. It goes in and then he had two or three more chances after that. So clearly that felt good for him."
Jesse Puljujarvi responded for the Oilers to make it 4-3 at 3:05 of the third period, taking a stretch pass from Brett Kulak and scoring with a wrist shot blocker side on Forsberg. Puljujarvi was a healthy scratch in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
"Jesse scored a huge goal for our team," Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said. "You know, I thought it was great. I don't know if anyone saw, but the reaction of his teammates when he scored that goal, I think that shows how close our team is. Everyone was so very happy for him, his teammates and coaches included."
Derek Ryan scored short-handed to make it 5-3 at 7:24, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins found a loose puck at the edge of the crease for a power-play goal at 14:37 for the 6-3 final.
NOTES: McDavid, who had a 17-game point streak from Nov. 26-Dec. 30, also had a 15- and 17-game point streak last season. Gretzky had multiple point streaks of at least 15 games in seven different seasons. … McDavid had a game-high seven hits; Draisaitl had a game-high eight shots on goal. … Sanderson left the game and did not return after taking a hit from Oilers defenseman Vincent Desharnais midway through the third. Smith did not have an update. … Giroux has scored in five straight games, tying his career high.