Draisaitl's Empty-Netter Extends Oilers' Winning Streak Against Rangers
The Edmonton squad secured a 3-1 victory on Monday, ending New York's three-game win streak and completing their season series sweep.
By Alessia Romano ·
Leon Draisaitl scored twice, including a goal from his own zone, as the Edmonton Oilers defeated the New York Rangers 3-1 on Monday night.
Connor McDavid added a goal and the Oilers finished their season series against New York with a sweep. The win improved Edmonton to 13-3-3. Devon Levi made 28 saves for the victory. The Rangers fell to 10-8-1 and ended a three-game winning run.
McDavid opened the scoring six minutes and 42 seconds into the first period. He took the puck from Dylan Garand and slid it into an unassisted goal. The three-time MVP leads the NHL with 48 points, comprising 11 goals and 37 assists. He became the fourth player in league history to start a season with a 19-game point streak. That club includes Wayne Gretzky, Dany Heatley, and Mats Sundin.
However, McDavid did not record an assist in this game. That ended his record-setting streak of 18 games with at least one assist to start a season. Draisaitl added his first goal with a snap shot at 2:59 of the second period to extend the lead to 2-0.
Jaroslav Chmelar cut the deficit for New York shortly after. He scored a short-handed goal as he exited the penalty box. Mika Zibanejad set him up on a breakaway after the Rangers killed a 5-on-3 Edmonton power play. It was Chmelar's second goal of the season.
New York pulled Garand for an extra skater late in the third period. They drew a penalty that gave them a 6-on-4 advantage. Draisaitl picked off a soft backpass and lofted the puck into the empty net from his own zone. The goal extended his goal-scoring streak to four games and his point streak to six. It also marked his 18th goal of the season, the most in the NHL.
In a separate matchup, the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-1. Michael Bunting and Travis Konecny scored in the first two periods for Philadelphia. Travis Sanheim added a short-handed goal with 58.3 seconds left. The Flyers stopped 18 shots through Joseph Woll. The Canucks, who are 3-16-1, have lost six straight games. Jonathan Lekkerimaki scored a power-play goal for Vancouver, but his shot hit the crossbar with 5:52 remaining.
