Capitals beat Oilers for 13th straight home win
WASHINGTON -- Justin Williams and Tom Wilson scored as the Washington Capitals defeated the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 Friday night for their 13th consecutive home victory.
Goaltender Braden Holtby had 30 saves for the Capitals (41-12-7), who have won two in a row overall.
Leon Draisaitl scored Edmonton's lone goal. The Oilers had won four of the previous five games.
Williams scored the go-ahead goal 5:48 into the third period from the right wing off a feed from Jay Beagle, who dug out the puck along the boards behind Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot.
Connor McDavid, the NHL's points leader, had an assist in the series finale. The 20-year-old phenom made his Washington debut after missing last season's visit with an injury. He had two assists in the Oilers' 4-1 victory over the Caps in Edmonton on Oct. 26.
Washington has earned a point in 15 consecutive home games, but snapped its streak of 11 games in a row with at least five goals. The Captials returned home after a 1-2 road trip that included Wednesday's 4-1 win at the Philadelphia Flyers.
Wilson scored the game's first goal. With traffic blocking Talbot's vision, Wilson blasted a shot into the left corner of the net with 7:38 remaining in the first period for a 1-0 Edmonton lead.
With Edmonton legend and all-time NHL points leader Wayne Gretzky in attendance, the Oilers tied the score 35 seconds into the second period. Draisaitl's slap shot beat Holtby to the inside post for his 23rd goal after a bouncing puck off two Washington players remained deep in the Capitals end.
Talbot had 24 saves in the loss.
NOTES: Washington played without D Matt Niskanen (lower body), D Brooks Orpik (lower body) and F TJ Oshie (upper body). ... Edmonton activated D Darnell Nurse (ankle) from injured reserve, but he was not on the game roster. ... Both teams play their next game at Nashville, starting with the Capitals on Saturday. The Oilers face the Predators on Sunday. ... Nashville F and former Washington prospect Filip Forsberg became the first NHL player with hat tricks in consecutive games in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche. ... The Oilers are 0-2 against the Predators this season, including a 2-0 road loss on Feb. 2.