POST-GAME UPDATES
Inside The Oilers Blog
"We can talk about what we look like and what we feel like and all thought type of stuff but Patty (Patrick Maroon) is right, we have to win games," said Oilers Head Coach Todd McLellan. "Sometimes you have to win ugly, sometimes you need a shot off a shin pad in, that type of stuff, to win games.
"Right now, that's not happening for us."
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored his 100th career goal and Leon Draisaitl netted the other tally.
Connor McDavid extended his Penguins point-scoring streak with two assists in the night. He has seven points (2G, 5A) in four career games against the Pens.
Cam Talbot made 27 saves on 30 shots and the Oil won 53 percent of the faceoffs.
The Oilers failed to subdue the Pens' power play, which finished the night 2-for-4 and saw them score the game-deciding goal.
Edmonton got a power play marker of their own from Nugent-Hopkins to finish the night 1-for-5.
"It just comes down to not giving up one late there in the second and then we gave up another one on the PK," said Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse. "We got to clean those up. It's not good enough."
Routinely reduced to McDavid versus Sidney Crosby, the second and final 2017-18 instalment between the Oilers and Penguins saw the battle between the back stoppers continue, as Talbot and Matt Murray made 12 and 10 first-period saves, respectively.
For Murray, his body of work saw stops on Milan Lucic's early backhander, then Drake Caggiula's bouncing puck bat while on the man-advantage.
Talbot, meanwhile, robbed Conor Sheary on the doorstep with his glove after the Penguins forward one-timed a behind-the-net pass from Crosby. The Oilers keeper also made two consecutive saves on Ryan Reaves from the slot and got some luck when Bryan Rust's wrister hit the crossbar and bounced out.