McDavid scores twice for Oilers in win against Lightning

EDMONTON --Connor McDavid scored two goals for the Edmonton Oilers in a 4-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Rogers Place on Saturday.

Leon Draisaitl and Kailer Yamamoto each had a goal and an assist, and Mikko Koskinen made 31 saves for the Oilers (32-23-4), who had lost three of four (1-2-1).
"I liked a lot of things about our game," McDavid said. "Our power play could have been better (1-for-7), but we found a way to get a big goal there. Obviously our PK stepped up (4-for-4); that 5-on-3 was serious, and 'Leo' and [Darnell] Nurse were blocking those [shots], and 'Dunc' [Duncan Keith] doing a great job and Mikko doing his thing. I thought it was a well-rounded win."

Zach Bogosian scored, and Brian Elliott made 45 saves for the Lightning (37-15-6), who have lost three straight in regulation for the first time this season.
"We were grinding and sticking with it, but definitely making it hard on ourselves by taking a lot of penalties tonight," Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. "When you give their top-end guys a lot of puck touches and a lot of time and space, they're going to gradually get more confidence as the game gets on. It's on us to be better disciplined there and that will definitely help our chances moving forward."
McDavid gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead at 10:02 of the first period. He skated around Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman on a rush down the right side, cut across the net and tucked the puck in past Elliott. Edmonton is 18-0-0 when scoring the first goal this season.
"I'm not sure what it is, I think we just find a comfort level in our game," McDavid said. "Obviously the start is important. We haven't found a way to get the first goal too many times, so when we do, we have to bear down and find a way to get a win. I thought we did a good job of that tonight."
McDavid made it 2-0 on the power play at 19:15 of the second period on a shot from the left face-off circle.
"When things aren't going well for you, you invent ways to shoot yourself in the foot," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "Whether it's turnovers, taking too many penalties, we're finding ways on this road trip to make it hard on ourselves. If you're going to take that many penalties and you're going to put some of the best players in the world on the ice all night, it's going to be tough for you."

Bogosian cut it to 2-1 at 9:42 of the third period. He took a pass from Corey Perry and scored from the high slot.
Tampa Bay had a two-man advantage for 1:23 after Brad Malone took an unsportsmanlike penalty following the goal, and Cody Ceci was assessed a hooking penalty 37 seconds later, but could not score.
"The 'Moose' [Elliott] was great, he gave us a chance to win the game and we had the chance with the extended 5-on-3," Cooper said. "If you don't score on those; a wiseman once told me, it's tough to win the game when you have an extended 5-on-3 and don't score, and that's what happened."
Draisaitl scored on a breakaway to increase the lead to 3-1 at 12:52.
"You get behind in those types of games you have to battle your way back, and I thought we tried," Elliott said. "We got that 2-1 goal and guys took some hits to make that play and 'Bogo' finished on it. You could feel the tide turning a little bit, and then you give away the puck to the wrong guy and I didn't come up with that save. You feel good about your performance, but then you wish you had a couple of saves that you could keep the game a little bit closer."

Yamamoto scored into an empty net with Elliott on the bench for an extra attacker at 17:46 for the 4-1 final.
"We had 49 shots on net tonight, that's a real positive sign offensively, and we hit numerous posts and crossbars," Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. "We went into that third period against the two-time Stanley Cup champions and I thought we played a really mature third period. It didn't go exactly according to script, there were some high drama moments, but we found a way to get the win."
NOTES: McDavid took over the NHL lead in points with 83, one more than Jonathan Huberdeau of the Florida Panthers. Draisaitl is third with 81, his fourth straight season with at least 80 points. … Oilers forward Josh Archibald had three hits and a fighting major in 6:26 in his season debut. He had been diagnosed with myocarditis in training camp after contracting COVID-19 in the offseason. … Edmonton defenseman Tyson Barrie had two assists in 18:14 after missing three games with an upper-body injury. … Koskinen won his 77th game to pass Curtis Joseph for seventh place in Oilers history. He needs one win to tie Dwayne Roloson for sixth. … Edmonton forward Derek Ryan played his 400th NHL game. … It was Tampa Bay's first game in Edmonton since winning the Stanley Cup at Rogers Place on Sept. 28, 2020, and its first regular-season game there since Dec. 22, 2018. … Tampa Bay is 1-3-0 on its six-game road trip, which continues at the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.