GAME RECAP: Oilers 6, Senators 3

EDMONTON, AB - It was Oktoberfest in March at Rogers Place as German snipers Leon Draisaitl and Tim Stützle both scored twice in a 6-3 win for the Edmonton Oilers over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night.
Draisaitl's double gave the 27-year-old the fourth 100-point NHL season of his career, with his 44th goal of the campaign standing up as the game winner. The former Rocket Richard winner has been on a goal scoring tear as of late with 15 goals in his last 15 games.
"I think maybe he doesn't get as much attention as he deserves," Warren Foegele said about Draisaitl. "He's probably the best passer in the league and he's so smart. Just the way he kind of controls the game is something I've never seen before. He's a talented player and we're lucky we've got [him and McDavid] on our team."
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Derek Ryan, Nick Bjugstad and Connor McDavid added the rest of the Oilers offence on the evening, while Stutzle's 33rd and 34th goals of the season were accompanied by Brady Tkachuk's 27th on the year to pace the visitor's attack.
Stuart Skinner picked up his fifth win in his last six starts for his 20th victory of the season. The 24-year-old turned aside 29-of-32 Ottawa attempts in the win. Skinner came up big late in the contest with a pair of point-blank saves on Artem Zub and Shane Pinto with just over three minutes remaining to lock down the victory.
Senators starter Mads Sogaard allowed five goals on 33Oilers shots, marking the fourth time on the Senators five-game Western Conference road trip that they've allowed five or more goals.
Edmonton will now face the visiting Dallas Stars at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday before heading out on the road for an important divisional matchup against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday afternoon.

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FIRST BLOOD

The night after Rogers Place hosted the JUNO Awards, the Oilers got things rocking early in the contest.
Just 2:20 into the contest, Edmonton's fourth line of Ryan McLeod, Devin Shore, and Derek Ryan continued their strong run of play as of late, with Ryan the benefactor of a solid transition attack off the rush. Vincent Desharnais broke up a Senators zone entry attempt and quickly directed the outlet to Shore, who laid the tip pass off to the onrushing McLeod. The speedy forward created the two-on-one opportunity for the Oilers and found a streaking Ryan down the right wing.
The puck was off the veteran's stick nearly as quickly as it was in the back of the net behind Sogaard, pinging off the post and into the mesh for his 12th goal of the season. The 35-year-old has been playing some of the best hockey of his career in an important, but lower minute role for Head coach Jay Woodcroft. Ryan's 12 goals are the second most in a single season for the Spokane, Wash. native, who is just three away from his career high of 15 set back in 2017-18 with the Carolina Hurricanes.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Draisaitl continued to do what he does best for the Oilers -- score goals.
The 27-year-old notched his 43rd goal of the season to give Edmonton a 2-1 lead with 7:26 remaining in the first period. Nugent-Hopkins started off the goals scoring sequence with a quick swipe to the stick of Stützle that landed the puck right on the burger flipper of Draisaitl. The German and Foegele executed a quick give-and-go before Draisaitl was able to squeak a shot by Sogaard for the goal.
Draisaitl later picked up his 100th point of the season, in the way most fitting for the sniper. He founds some space in the slot in front of Sogaard and was quickly picked out by McDavid for a one-time finish and goal number 44. The marker put a stamp on Draisaitl's fourth 100-point season of his career, all of which have come in the last five seasons.
The only time in the last half decade that Draisaitl has not eclipsed the century mark was the shortened 2020-21 season where he notched 84 points (31G, 53A) in 56 games, which is a 123-point pace.
"I feel very fortunate. Obviously, very happy about it. Draisaitl said about hitting 100 points. "But this is my job. This is what I get paid to do, and I couldn't do it without any of these guys in here. I'm well aware of that and very appreciative of them finding me and putting me in the right spot. So very happy about that."

SPECIAL SENS

Edmonton was able to light the lamp twice in the first period, all at even strength, but it was the special teams of the visiting Senators that negated the Oilers early offence.
First, it was the Senators slumping power play that helped the Capital City team get on the board. Nick Bjugstad took a tripping call on Artem Zub behind the Senators net at 5:42 into the game for the infraction.
The Ottawa power play, which hadn't scored in a season-high six games, capitalized just over a minute later when Tkachuk's cross-crease pass deflected off the skate of Oilers defenceman Vincent Desharnais and behind Skinner for the 23-year-old's 27th goal of the season.
Late in the first period, with the Oilers up by a 2-1 advantage and a power-play opportunity, the Senators were able to get right back in the game with a shorthanded goal. Dylan Gambrell was able to find Ottawa's leading goalscorer Stützle with a cross-ice feed on a two-on-one, which the former third-overall pick tapped by Skinner for goal number 33 of the year. The young German prodigy has shown steady improvement in his NHL career, increasing his goal totals by double digits each season he has been in the League. Stutzle scored 12 as a rookie in 2020-21 before jumping to 22 goals and 33 goals in the following two campaigns.

100-POINT HOPEFUL

Nuge's march to 100 continued with a two-point effort on Tuesday night against the Senators. The longest-serving Oiler is currently third on the team in scoring with 82 points on the year (31G, 51A) and needs just 18 in his final 14 contest to hit triple digits for the first time since he was the Red Deer Rebels leading scorer in the Western Hockey League back in 2010-11.
Nugent-Hopkins picked up his 51st assist of the season courtesy of his excellent defensive acumen, picking the pocket of Stützle to set up Draisaitl's first-period marker.
The 29-year-old found the back of the net for himself later in the contest, giving Edmonton a 3-2 advantage 5:39 into the second period. Nugent-Hopkins took quick advantage of a Senators miscue, dropping the knee on a giveaway at the right circle for his 31st of the year and his 12th on the power-play.

BJUZZER BJEATER

The NHL Trade Deadline for the Oilers has so far proven to be a fruitful one for the Blue & Orange.
The Oilers made a big splash when they acquired Mattias Ekholm from the Nashville Predators, but the late move for Bjugstad has also paid dividends for Jay Woodcroft's squad. The two newest Oilers connected late in the third period, with the rugged defender slicing the Senators defence with a slick feed to a charging Bjugstad. The lanky centre got Sogaard to bite on the forehand before lifting a backhander that touched all three sides of the net before dropping to the ice behind the Senators goalie for his 15th goal of the season and second as a member of the Edmonton Oilers.
The 5-2 marker came with less than a second remaining in the middle frame and gave the squad a little extra cushion heading into the final 20 minutes at Rogers Place. Bjugstad has had a solid start to his Oilers career, with three points in his first five games in Blue & Orange.

PARTING WORDS

Head Coach Jay Woodcroft on his overall thoughts on the game:
"I thought we were a little bit sloppy early in the game. I didn't think we were skating at the level that we normally skate at. We got the first goal, which was nice, but gave one up when it went in off a foot. I thought our special teams in the first period could have been better. I saw us improve as the game went on. In the end, we found goals from Derek Ryan, and Nick Bugstad. Warren Foegele had a heck of a game, but I thought the best player on the ice tonight was Leon Draisaitl by a country mile."
Woodcroft on the play of Leon Draisaitl on Tuesday:
"I thought he played the game like he was on a mission. I think he was 70 per cent in the face off circle. He had a good conscience about him the entire game in terms of both sides of the puck. And I think when he plays in the middle, he really gets his feet moving."
"I think he's hockey sense personified. I think he's the definition of what the modern day power forward looks like or should look like. I think when he's at his very best, his 200-foot game is so strong because he's hard to contain in all three zones. I think in the offensive zone, when he's holding people off and making plays in tight spaces -- in the neutral zone when he's coming through with speed and making good decisions with the puck -- and then in the defensive zone, when he really leans on someone. He's a big man, and I think he's ultra competitive. But what stands out for me with Leon Draisaitl is his hockey sense."

Leon Draisaitl on the Oilers holding on to the lead over the Senators
"You know, we've done it a lot this year. We have had a couple hiccups here and there with leads, so it's something that we obviously preach, and we need to be good at because those are the situations that you could find yourself in the playoffs. I thought we did a good job tonight, didn't give them too much, but other than the first, I thought it was a pretty solid game."
Draisaitl on what his dad would say to him about hitting 100 points:
"He doesn't give me too many compliments. He just tells me to stick to what I do and keep going, keep pushing. It's always the same, but I'm sure he's proud."
Draisaitl on Tim Stutzle calling him the face of German hockey:
"It's a huge honour. If that's the way he sees me, then that is a big honour to me. He's a heck of a player himself, so he certainly doesn't have to shy away from anything himself, but if I can take in that role, then I'll gladly do that. Hopefully there's going to be more and more German players coming up and having a big time impact on NHL teams."
Warren Foegele on the Oilers play against the Senators:
"Obviously a good result and happy with that, but I think there are some things we can clean up. I thought in the second period we were rolling there, and in the third. Last game, we had a couple goal lead, and we let it slip, but today we didn't. I think that's a good sign moving forward, and you've got to keep rolling."
Foegele on being able to play on Draisaitl's wing:
"I think he's just a world-class player, and I think anyone who plays with him is lucky. My job is to try to get him the puck and go to the net. So kudos to him for doing all really the hard work, Anytime I can get up there, it's a privilege, and I definitely try to take the most of that opportunity on that rush. Yeah, the guys are giving me a couple of jokes there on the bench, but couldn't get it completely through, but at least the wheels were moving.