By Canadian Press

Oilers get big goals from McDavid and Draisaitl, score 4 in 3rd period to beat Devils 6-3

Dec 21, 2023 | 8:51 PM

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Adam Erne scored in a span of 69 seconds early in the third period as the Edmonton Oilers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.

Ryan McLeod had two goals for Edmonton while playing against his older brother. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored, and Calvin Pickard made 23 saves.

Dawson Mercer, Jonas Siegenthaler and Timo Meier scored for the Devils, who lost their third straight after winning eight of 10. Michael McLeod had two assists.

McDavid scored his 12th goal at 1:40 of the third to tie the game at 3. Draisaitl put Edmonton ahead with his 14th at 2:22 before Erne made it 5-3 with his first goal for the Oilers at 2:49.

Sam Gagner and Mattias Ekholm each had two assists for the Oilers, who lost to the New York Islanders 3-1 on Tuesday to start a six-game trip.

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Ryan McLeod scored 24 seconds into the game and completed the scoring with his fourth of the season at 9:04 of the third.

Meier put New Jersey ahead 3-2 with his sixth goal at 16:26 of the second as the Devils ralled from an early 2-0 deficit.

Meier hadn’t scored since Nov. 14 at Winnipeg, after which he missed seven games with a lower-body injury and had zero points in nine games since returning.

Edmonton jumped to a 2-0 lead less than six minutes in. Ryan McLeod’s early goal marked the seventh time this season the Oilers scored within the first two minutes. Nugent-Hopkins made it 2-0 at 5:24 with his eighth. Ekholm and McDavid assisted.

Devils coach Lindy Ruff then yanked goaltender Akira Schmid and replaced him with Vitek Vanecek. Schmid allowed two goals on six shots. Vanecek stopped all 18 shots he faced in the second period but unraveled in the third.

The Devils were coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday after losing 5-1 to Anaheim on Sunday.

The Oilers also won the previous meeting, beating New Jersey 4-1 in Edmonton on Dec. 10.

UP NEXT

Oilers: Play the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.

Devils: Host the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday to continue a five-game homestand.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Allan Kreda, The Associated Press