Oilers hand Devils first road loss of season
EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Edmonton Oilers entered Friday night's game as the NHL's lowest scoring team -- because of a lack of production from the second, third and fourth lines.
Well, in a 6-3 win over New Jersey, the supporting cast stood up and was counted. Drake Caggiula scored his first goal of the season. Milan Lucic and Ryan Strome each got their second goals. and Oscar Klefbom got his first.
The Oilers (4-7-1) handed the Devils (9-3-0) their first road loss of the season.
Oilers goalie Cam Talbot stopped 30 shots to post his 100th career NHL win.
Caggiula got the Oilers on the board at 5:40 of the first period. On the power play, he had a simple tap-in after a great cross-crease pass from Connor McDavid.
Strome doubled the lead at 8:55, tipping a point shot from former Devils defenseman Adam Larsson.
But the Devils got one back at the 15-minute mark. Miles Wood made a rush down the wing and forced Talbot to make a pad save. But the rebound sat temptingly for Taylor Hall, who stuck the puck in the net. Hall, who was traded to the Devils from Edmonton before the 2016-17 season, was greeted by a chorus of boos from the Rogers Place faithful as he celebrated his goal.
Oilers fans had more reasons to be sour at 5:02 of the second. Devils rookie Jesper Bratt spun and unleashed a seeing-eye shot that banked off the post and in.
Klefbom restored the Oilers' lead just a minute later, with a bullet drive that went through Devils goalie Cory Schneider. Patrick Maroon got an assist, extending his point streak to seven games.
Lucic made it 4-2 with 1:04 left in the second, as Anton Slepyshev's pass banked off his leg and in.
But while the supporting cast had a big night, the first line wasn't quiet. Leon Draisaitl scored with 6:42 left in the third period, as McDavid picked up his third assist of the night.
Brian Gibbons tipped home a consolation goal for the Devils with 5:35 left. Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins added an empty-netter.
NOTES: Devils LW Marcus Johansson did not play; he left Wednesday's game in Vancouver after falling heavily into the boards. ... The Devils scratched D Ben Lovejoy and RW Stefan Noesen. ... C Brian Boyle played in his second game with the Devils since being diagnosed with leukemia; he was honored in a ceremonial opening faceoff with Oilers C Connor McDavid. ... The Oilers scratched LW Jujhar Khaira, RW Kailer Yamamoto and D Yohann Auvitu. .... The Oilers entered the game with a 68.3 percent penalty-kill rate, but the Devils didn't get a man advantage all night long.