Leon Draisaitl leads Oilers past slumping Blackhawks

Leon Draisaitl had two goals and an assist to lift the visiting Edmonton Oilers to a 5-4 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Mattias Janmark and Connor McDavid each tallied a goal and assist for Edmonton, which stretched its winning streak to three games while keeping Chicago skidding. The Blackhawks have lost eight straight games (0-7-1), getting outscored 39-18 over that span.

Edmonton's Brett Kulak notched two assists, and Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner made 21 saves.

Max Domi scored twice on the power play for Chicago. MacKenzie Entwistle added a goal and an assist, Boris Katchouk also scored and Arvid Soderblom stopped 36 shots.

The Oilers outshot the Blackhawks 14-6 in a scoreless first period, then needed less than one minute into the second to solve Soderblom. After a sequence of precision passes, Draisaitl took a feed from Darnell Nurse and scored on a back-door one-timer at the 54-second mark.

Nugent-Hopkins made it 2-0 Edmonton about eight minutes later, capitalizing on miscommunication between the Blackhawks, skating in unnoticed to bury a Jesse Puljujarvi pass from behind the net.

Chicago trimmed the deficit to 2-1 at 14:33 of the second, as a Jack Johnson drive from the blue line deflected off Katchouk and into the net. It was Katchouk's first goal of the season.

McDavid restored the two-goal advantage at 1:18 of the third, darting through the Chicago defense after taking the puck in his own zone.

McDavid, who had three goals in 14 games against Chicago entering the season, boasts four goals in the clubs' two meetings this season.

Janmark gave the Oilers a 4-1 edge midway through the final period, but Edmonton couldn't exhale when Domi and Entwistle scored 19 seconds apart to pull to the hosts within 4-3 with 7:04 to play.

Draisaitl scored what proved to be the game-winner 2:25 later, finishing a two-on-one opportunity from McDavid. It was Draisaitl's third successive game-winning goal and league-best sixth of the season.

Domi accounted for the final margin with just under two minutes to play, but the Blackhawks were unable to get the equalizer.

--Field Level Media

1/3: Nov 30, 2022; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl (29) warms up before a game against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports

2/3: Nov 30, 2022; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) warms up before a game against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports

3/3: Nov 30, 2022; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner (74) defends the goal in the first period against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports