Viktor Arvidsson had a goal and an assist as the Edmonton Oilers won their third game in a row, getting past the surging Ottawa Senators 3-1 on Sunday.
“The team was playing good when I was out of the lineup and I’m just trying to come in and contribute as much as everybody else,” Arvidsson said after the win.
Zach Hyman and Adam Henrique also scored for the Oilers (21-11-2), who have won 11 of their last 13 contests.
“I like our resilience,” Hyman said. “I think the past couple games we were down going into the third, and then this one we were up and we were playing with the lead; and I thought we did a really, really good job defending the lead and not giving them much.”
Nick Cousins replied for the Senators (18-14-2) who had a season-high six-game winning streak halted. Ottawa has won eight of its last 10 games.
Stuart Skinner made 21 stops in net for the Oilers, while Leevi Merilainen recorded 12 saves in the loss for the Senators, replacing injured Linus Ullmark to start the second.
“No matter what game you’re playing there’s always two points on the line, so when it comes down to the very end those two points really matter,” Skinner said. “So, it was a really good, mature win by us. I thought my game was solid — I did what I had to do. The guys played fantastic defensively. I feel like I got a lot of stuff from the outside, which is amazing. So, it’s just a credit to the guys.”
TAKEAWAYS
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Senators: Ullmark started the game in net for the Senators and played the entire first period, making six saves on seven shots, but did not return for the second period with what was reported as an upper-body injury after taking a shot up high late in the opening frame. He was replaced by 22-year-old Finn Merilainen who played in just his fourth career NHL game and second this season after earning his first NHL win on Saturday night against the Vancouver Canucks after being called up due to an undisclosed injury to usual backup Anton Forsberg. Ullmark had been red-hot of late, winning seven games in a row while sporting an overall GAA of 2.37 and save percentage of .916.
Oilers: Edmonton regained the lead on the power play with six minutes left to play in the middle frame as Hyman swooped in to snap home the rebound to extend his goal-scoring streak to six games. Hyman has been on an unbelievable heater with 10 goals in his last nine games since returning from an injury, giving him 13 goals on the season after scoring just three goals in his first 20 games. Hyman, who leads the NHL in goals scored in December, had a career year last season with 54 goals. He became just the fifth player in Oilers history with multiple six-game scoring streaks, joining Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson and Connor McDavid.
KEY MOMENT
Edmonton started the scoring with 5:34 remaining in the first period as McDavid picked up the puck in the corner and sent it through the blue paint to Arvidsson, who tapped in his third. Arvidsson was playing in just his third game back after missing 15 games with an injury and was elevated to the first line win Ryan Nugent-Hopkins absent due to an illness.
KEY STAT
Both Oilers superstars McDavid and Leon Draisaitl extended their points streaks to nine games. During that span Draisaitl now has 20 points, while McDavid has recorded 18 points. It’s Draisaitl’s 14th career 20-point month tying Paul Coffey and Mark Messier for the fourth most in Oilers franchise history behind Gretzky (48), McDavid (23) and Kurri (20).
UP NEXT
Senators: Visit the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
Oilers: Visit the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.