Connor McDavid notched a hat trick and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins collected three assists as the Edmonton Oilers blew out the Chicago Blackhawks Monday night, tying up their best-of-five series at a game apiece.
Alex Chiasson, James Neal and Tyler Ennis all scored goals for the Oilers, who scored two goals in the early stages of the game and never looked back.
The Blackhawks got goals from Connor Murphy, Slater Koekkoek and Patrick Kane, but it wasn’t enough as their porous defense was exposed time and time again in a blowout defeat.
The first period got off to a rough start for the Blackhawks, as McDavid showed why he is one of, if not the best, players in the league. McDavid scored two goals in that span, including a gorgeous goal that saw him beat Olli Maatta in a foot race and lift a shot over Crawford, and it was 2-0 Edmonton very quickly in the contest.
The Blackhawks were able to get on the board a short time later however, thanks to Kane. On a great feed from Alex DeBrincat, Kane beat Mikko Koskinen, making it a 2-1 contest just nine minutes into the game.
In the second period, the Blackhawks tied the game at 3 after goals by Koekkoek and Maatta, but the Oilers got a power play late in that frame and were able to take the lead for good. McDavid scored on a goal that bounced off of two different Blackhawks players, and Edmonton seized a 4-3 advantage.
The Oilers got goals from Neal and Chaisson within less than a minute of one another in the third period, giving themselves all the cushion they needed to tie the game.
Sports
Game 3, which will see the Blackhawks play as the home team in spite of the game being played in Edmonton, will drop the puck at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday night.
