Nugent-Hopkins gets 5 points in Oilers win against Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS --Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and four assists for the Edmonton Oilers in a 7-4 win against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.

It was Nugent-Hopkins' first five-point game since Nov. 19, 2011, when he had five assists as a rookie against the Chicago Blackhawks. He has an NHL career-high 96 points (35 goals, 61 assists) in 75 games this season.
"Obviously, offensively our team has been cooking all year. I'm playing with some great players," Nugent-Hopkins said. "I'm just trying to help out a little more offensively than I did last year. Obviously, when you have team success, individual success follows that sometimes."

Connor McDavid had three assists, Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist, and Stuart Skinner made 18 saves for the Oilers (43-23-9), who won 5-4 at the Arizona Coyotes on Monday and are 7-0-1 in their past eight games.
"Every line contributed. Power play was good. PK was really good," Draisaitl said. "That's a great sign. … All in all, we had the play in our favor for most of the night."
Edmonton moved one point back of the Los Angeles Kings for second in the Pacific Division, and three points back of Vegas. The Kings and Golden Knights each have one game in hand.
"I don't think we're anywhere near our potential just yet," Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. "We're working toward that. I saw good signs in our team. … For us to find wins, while we weren't perfect in either game, I thought there was a lot of good for us to build on. We're building toward peaking at the right time, which is in about three weeks."
Jonathan Marchessault scored twice for the Golden Knights (46-22-6), who had their four-game winning streak end. Jonathan Quick allowed six goals on 34 shots before being replaced at the start of the third period by Laurent Brossoit, who made four saves.
"We tried to win by playing their game," Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. "We tried to make plays that weren't there. We tried to outscore them. That's not how to beat them. They're the best offensive team in the League. We're not the Edmonton Oilers on offense. We're good offensively, but we're not them. We can't get into that type of game."

Marchessault gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead at 1:12 of the first period, scoring five-hole with a backhand following a giveaway by Nugent-Hopkins.
Evan Bouchard scored a power-play goal through a screen 37 seconds later at 1:49 to tie it 1-1.
"[Bouchard] has got such an ability to read the play," Nugent-Hopkins said. "Him just being confident up there (on the power play) goes a long way for our group."
Nugent-Hopkins put Edmonton in front 2-1 at 8:20, beating Quick glove side from the left hash marks after Nicolas Roy overskated a loose puck.
William Karlsson tied it 2-2 with a short-handed goal at 9:24. He pushed Bouchard off the puck along the right boards, skated in and scored five-hole on Skinner.
However, Draisaitl responded on the same power play to give Edmonton a 3-2 lead, redirecting in a centering pass from McDavid at 9:48.
"We gave up a couple there, maybe unnecessarily, but we found a way to come back," Draisaitl said. "We took the game over from there."

Michael Amadio tied it 3-3 at 3:13 of the second period. He scored off his own rebound after Philip Broberg's pass from behind the net deflected out front off the stick of Phil Kessel.
Darnell Nurse answered for the Oilers to make it 4-3 at 6:01, beating Quick short side with a slap shot from the left circle.
Evander Kane extended the lead to 5-3 at 13:30, one-timing a backhand cross-slot pass from Draisaitl just under the crossbar.
Zach Hyman then made it 6-3 at 15:34, tapping in a backdoor pass from McDavid on a power play.
Brett Kulak pushed it to 7-3 at 4:24 of the third period, picking up a loose puck as he exited the penalty box and scoring off the post from the right circle. It was his first goal since Dec. 7 (48 games).
"That was pretty nice," Nugent-Hopkins said. "Great job by him bearing down when he got the chance there."

Marchessault scored his second of the game at 18:28 for the 7-4 final.
"I think we started well in the first period," Marchessault said. "Obviously, it's one of those things that ... you get in the (penalty) box and give them chances, they'll start feeling good about their game. It was a tough game for us. I didn't like our effort."
NOTES:McDavid has 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) during a nine-game point streak. … Draisaitl has 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) during a 10-game point streak. … Kane's goal was his 300th in the NHL. … Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore (undisclosed) did not play in the third period. Cassidy said he was being evaluated but did not have any further update.