GAME RECAP: Senators 5, Oilers 3

KANATA, ON – Despite Zach Hyman reaching a major milestone with his 50th goal of the season, the Edmonton Oilers were undone by the Ottawa Senators on Sunday night to fall to their second straight defeat with a 5-3 loss at Canadian Tire Centre.

Hyman gave the Oilers a two-goal advantage off a power-play redirection in the middle frame, notching the first 50-goal season of his career before the Senators came back to tie things up 3-3 through 40 minutes off goals from Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson, who both finished the night with a goal and two assists.

Edmonton peppered Ottawa netminder Joonas Korpisalo with a 36-16 shot advantage, but Jakob Chychrun's two-goal effort – including the game-winner on the power play with 3:03 remaining in the third period – would be the decisive act from the Senators to ultimately take the two points away from the Oilers.

"It's disappointing that we didn't come up with two points," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "I thought we had a lot of good opportunities, especially when we were up 3-1, and things were looking good. But we made a mistake at 3-2 and then, they were back in it when it looked like they were out of it. Special teams was obviously a big part of this game."

The Senators finished the night 3-for-4 with the man advantage, with the Oilers unable to get a crucial stop on the penalty kill and a few extra stops from netminder Calvin Pickard, who was beaten three times on 16 shots to take the loss.

Evan Bouchard had three assists, Connor McDavid contributed two helpers, and Hyman, Adam Henrique and Leon Draisaitl all scored Edmonton in the defeat.

"I thought they got timely scoring," McDavid said. "We felt like we were the better team and had the better chances. We had the puck most of the night, but ultimately, they're a skilled team. They capitalize on mistakes, and they did that tonight."

Edmonton will wrap up their three-game road trip on Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets.

FIRST PERIOD

The lead was short-lived for the Oilers after Adam Henrique hit 20 goals on the season less than four minutes into the opening frame.

Defenceman Mattias Ekholm had open ice to walk down from the blueline and put a pass towards the back post for Henrique, who had the puck deflect over the goal line beyond Joonas Korpisalo for a 1-0 Oilers lead on the forward's 20th goal of the campaign and his second in an Oilers uniform.

Edmonton wasn't ahead for long, however, after a slashing penalty to Derek Ryan – who was back in the lineup on Sunday in place of Evander Kane – set up the chance for the Senators to equalize 18 seconds into the man advantage on a sweet cross-crease saucer pass from Drake Batherson that was finished short side by Jakob Chychrun less than two minutes after Henrique opened the scoring.

Calvin Pickard was making the start for the Oilers in the second of a back-to-back and was tested sparingly in the opening frame, but was required to make his only high-danger save when Batherson teed up a one-timer from between the hashmarks that the 31-year-old absorbed for one of four saves he made in the first 20 minutes.

Joonas Korpisalo followed suit almost two minutes later, sliding across to take away a terrific opportunity for Sam Carrick by laying out and getting his right pad to what would've been the 32-year-old's second goal with the Oilers.

SECOND PERIOD

Every one of his teammates knew it was coming, and the celebration was fitting after Zach Hyman was mobbed by his teammates in acknowledgement of his first 50-goal season.

After Leon Draisaitl scored with the man advantage from an incredibly tight angle in the left circle, restoring Edmonton's lead in the first two minutes of the middle frame, it was only fitting that Hyman would hit the half-century for goals on a power-play redirection around the blue paint, where almost all of his goals have been scored during his incredible campaign.

"It was special," Hyman said. "Leon was right next to me and I just saw the excitement on his face. He knows how hard it is to get there, and for him to be on the ice with Connor – two 50-goal scorers – and then I got to the bench. Perry gave me a big hug and welcomed me to the club too, which was just special.

"To have teammates that care that much about you, to share your milestones and your successes, it's what the game's all about. It's a family in here. Everybody cares about each other."

Connor McDavid fired a low pass to Hyman at the left post that the winger redirected over Korpisalo's right pad before being immediately bear-hugged by Draisaitl, leading to plenty of congratulations on the ice and on the fly-by past the Oilers bench from his teammates for becoming the seventh Oilers player in franchise history to reach 50 goals in a season.

• RELEASE: Hyman hits 50 with PPG in Ottawa

Those names are Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, Glenn Anderson, Mark Messier and now – Zach Hyman.

"On the bench, I got goosebumps," Knoblauch said. "I was so happy. It was nice to see a guy – a hardworking, honest guy – reach a milestone like that, and just how close the guys are and how happy they were for him."

After the highs of Hyman's milestone goal, the Oilers would endure a frustrating stretch that saw the Senators draw level at 3-3 before the second intermission – in part due to some questionable officiating from the referees.

Tim Stutzle made it a one-goal game just 1:14 later before Vincent Desharnais was handed a tough interference call when he laid a body check on the German forward in the neutral zone, leading to Batherson tying the game on a top-shelf snipe on Pickard for their second PPG of the evening just 22 seconds into the infraction.

"I didn't see it," Knoblauch said of the penalty. "Let's just say that."

Brady Tkachuk and Stutzle picked up the assists on Batherson's equalizer, but the officials certainly had a hand in the goal that made it 3-3 through 40 minutes despite Edmonton's 31-12 advantage in shots.

"Listen, it's a hard job that the refs have to do out there. The game's fast," McDavid said. "They see things in real-time. They don't get to go back and look at it, that's just the way it is. Those calls are going to happen both ways, and like I said, they capitalized on mistakes."

THIRD PERIOD

With all their one-way traffic toward Ottawa's crease, Edmonton couldn't find that all-important goal before another Senators power play with 3:12 left in regulation undid the Blue & Orange's efforts over the previous two-and-three-quarter periods.

With Batherson breaking up the left side near the benches, Mattias Ekholm was forced into a holding penalty to give Ottawa a crucial late power play that was powered through by Jakob Chychrun on a one-timer delivered onto his tape in the right circle by Batherson, who would finish with one goal and two assists.

"I just felt like they capitalized on our mistakes," Hyman said. "They were really good on the power play. They had two really nice goals. It felt like when we gave up chances, they were grade-A chances. So it was tough on Picks. Just one of those games where the chances you give up hurt you."

Ottawa would finish off a 5-3 victory with a Parker Kelly empty-netter, solidifying Edmonton's second straight defeat and only their third loss to the Senators over their last 15 meetings.