GAME RECAP: Oilers 3, Predators 1

EDMONTON, AB – Bouncing back to begin the homestand.

Forward Matt Savoie's 11th goal of the season went down as the game-winner as the Edmonton Oilers began their four-game homestand at Rogers Place on Sunday night with a 3-1 victory over the Nashville Predators, picking up two important points in the Western Conference playoff race.

The St. Albert product would seal Edmonton's 33rd win of the campaign 2:32 into the second period, but concern was with Leon Draisaitl after he scored his 35th early on the power play in the opening frame but didn't return after sustaining an undisclosed injury from a hit delivered by Ozzy Wiesblatt.

Head Coach Kris Knoblauch didn't have an update to provide on Draisaitl's status post-game.

"Lots of guys had to step up, and I think we have lots of guys in here that can play bigger roles and can fill in when needed," Savoie said. "When it's a player like Leon, it's got to be a committee of guys that step up and fill different roles and really contribute to us having success, because this is a big part in our season, and we really need to rally off some wins here to put ourselves in a good spot."

The Oilers' penalty kill finished 4-for-4, while goaltender Connor Ingram made 27 saves to help his team bounce back from Friday's comeback loss to the Blues and stay two points back of the Anaheim Ducks for first place in the Pacific Division.

"It's almost the exact same game as we played in St. Louis, too, but we just found a way to hold on to this one," Ingram said. "So there's no lying that this one felt good."

The Oilers will continue their homestand on Tuesday night when they welcome the San Jose Sharks to Rogers Place to contest two important points in the Pacific playoff race.

FIRST PERIOD

Not on Leon Draisaitl Bobblehead Night...

Draisaitl continued his domination of the Predators by converting the Oilers' lone power-play opportunity to open the scoring early, but the German wouldn't come out for the start of the second period after taking an awkward check five minutes into the contest that ultimately led to his early exit.

After Kapanen hit the post on an early breakaway, McDavid was held off the rush on the next shift to send the Oilers to the game's first power play 3:12 into the frame, where Draisaitl converted his 35th goal of the season by beating netminder Justus Annunen under the right pad for the 1-0 lead.

Draisaitl's tally was his 29th goal and 52nd point over his last 23 games against Nashville, leaving him three points shy of his seventh career 100-point season.

However, No. 29 would be forced with an injury when he was checked into the top part of the boards along Nashville's bench by Ozzy Wiesblatt, resulting in Kapanen taking offence and a slashing penalty before Vasily Podkolzin dropped the gloves with Nic Hague.

"I don't mind killing those," Knoblauch said. "You're sticking up for your team, and you don't want to take them too often, but if you never take those types of penalties, you probably have a pretty disconnected team. As painful it is, it bites you sometimes, but for your team, you need some of that throughout the season."

The German would test it out over two more shifts, but wouldn't come back out for the start of the second period.

"He got checked out, didn't feel right, but felt like he could play on it," Knoblauch added. "The medical staff looked at him, and they were comfortable with him trying it out. He went out and he just didn't feel quite right. So the fact that the medical staff said it doesn't seem too bad and there were no immediate red flags, it tells me that it shouldn't be a really long injury. There might be some time off, but we'll find out later."

The Oilers' penalty kill was busy after killing off three infractions in the first period, keeping the 1-0 lead intact and limiting the Predators to only five shots and seven total at the end of the opening 20 minutes.

"I thought we were good on the pressure," Savoie said. "I thought we didn't let them get set up in the zone too often, so I think not letting them get into their set and their looks is big."

SECOND PERIOD

Matt Savoie continues to impress since the Olympic break, and a place alongside Zach Hyman and Connor McDavid on the top line can only increase the rookie's recent success after he doubled Edmonton's lead early in the middle frame alongside No. 97.

"I'm a player who likes playing with the puck," Savoie said. "I like having it in my hands and being able to make plays with it, so having it as much as possible is obviously a big thing for me."

A wayward pass into the slot by the Predators led to Mattias Ekholm quickly moving it into the neutral zone to create a two-on-one for McDavid and Savoie, with the Oilers captain throwing a pass under defenceman Ryan Ufko for the St. Albert product to put away for his 11th of the season.

"Just bust as hard as I can and try and give him an option," Savoie said. "Obviously, he did a good job selling the shot and sliding over to a pretty open net."

Savoie now has nine points over his last 10 games (2G, 7A) and sits 12th in NHL rookie scoring this season, while two assists for McDavid through two periods extended his point streak against Nashville to 18 games, which matches his career high against a single franchise from 2017-23 against San Jose.

"I think just the consistency of it," Savoie said of his success. "I think in the first half of the year, there were stretches of a couple of good games and a couple of bad games, getting a bunch of looks and going cold for a little bit. But I feel like since the Christmas break, I've been more consistent game by game, just getting looks and playing better all around."

Edmonton's penalty kill turned aside another Nashville power play before Walman helped rectify Wiesblatt's earlier check on Draisaitl by blowing him up inside the Predators' blueline with the biggest hit of the night, which then led to Erik Haula tripping Zach Hyman to send the Oilers to their second power play.

Vasily Podkolzin was the one who assumed Draisaitl's position on the right side on the power play, and the Russian forward nearly converted from his office if it wasn't for a terrific stretch glove save from Annunen to keep it 2-0 for the Oilers.

After the Predators killed off a late penalty to Wiesblatt for slashing Ekholm, a wild bounce off Roman Josi's shinpad from the shot put towards goal by Nurse nearly made it 3-0 as it struck the left post before the rebound was put wide by Samanski.

THIRD PERIOD

There'd be no late-game heroics this time to stop the Oilers from claiming victory.

The Oilers would have to protect a one-goal lead for the final 14:08 after Fedor Svechkov managed to score far side from the slot to break Ingram's shutout bid in the third period, just as St. Louis did back on Friday after erasing their two-goal lead to win in overtime.

Following their collapse in St. Louis, Knoblauch said that the message in the dressing room during the second intermission was to continue what they had been doing in the previous period, which his team did successfully.

"I think the only time they had any opportunities in the offensive zone was after turnovers, whether that was usually in the offensive zone, around the blueline or on the rush," Knoblauch said. "nd as long as we kept on getting the puck deep, it was pretty hard for them to break it out against our forecheck and our rush defence. So as long as we managed the puck well, we'd be in a pretty good position."

Zach Hyman had a redirection on the power play that sat perilously in the crease for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins that he couldn't put away while coming through the blue paint, and it was a similar story on a rush for the Predators later in the period that required some smart defending from the Oilers.

With the Nashville net empty, Hyman was able to race to a loose puck in the neutral zone and put the result to bed with 1:07 left in regulation.

McDavid picked up his third assist of the night to help cap off the 3-1 victory as Oilers bounced back from Friday's 3-2 defeat to the Blues, securing two points against a Predators side that's also chasing down a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

"This is the most important time of the season, so I think the fire in here is there, and it's just about continuing to grow and finding our game," Savoie said.