Oilers hold off Coyotes 5-4; McDavid reaches 140 points
Edmonton Oilers left wing Zach Hyman (18) celebrates with center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins after scoring a goal aginst the Arizona Coyotes in the first period during an NHL hockey game, Monday, March 27, 2023, in Tempe, Ariz. Credit: AP/Rick Scuteri
TEMPE, Ariz. — Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 remaining and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Arizona Coyotes 5-4 on Monday night.
Zack Hyman, Bouchard, Darnell Nurse and Leon Draisaitl also scored for the Oilers, who extended their points streak to seven (6-0-1). Jack Campbell stopped 29 shots.
Connor McDavid picked up an assist for his 140th point of the season, becoming the first player to reach the mark since Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr both achieved it in 1995-96. The last Oilers player to do it was Wayne Gretzky in 1987-88.
Matias Maccelli and Barrett Hayton scored two goals each for the Coyotes, who lost their fifth straight overall and snapped their eight-game home points streak.Lawson Crouse had three assists and Karel Vejmelka finished with 24 saves.
Nugent-Hopkins' goal was his 34th of the season and came with Arizona's Clayton Keller in the penalty box for hooking. It was the Oilers' second power-play goal of the game.
Edmonton entered Monday as the highest scoring team in the league with 286 goals. They showed why in the first period with three goals — one on a power play, one short-handed and one at even strength.
Arizona scored first, though, as Maccelli scored his ninth goal from the slot off Campbell's glove 3:50 into the game.
Edmonton Oilers center Nick Bjugstad (72) shields Arizona Coyotes defenseman Victor Soderstrom (77) from the puck in the first period during an NHL hockey game, Monday, March 27, 2023, in Tempe, Ariz. Credit: AP/Rick Scuteri
That didn’t last long as the Coyotes’ Nathan Smith was penalized for holding at 4:34. Just 6 seconds later, Hyman tied it up on a rebound for his 32nd. McDavid had his 80th assist of the season on the play.
Hayton put the Coyotes in front again with a power-play goal with 7:01 left in the period, exactly one minute after Edmonton’s Vincent Desharnais went to the penalty box for holding. But that advantage also went away quickly when Bouchard scored his fifth of the season, on a second-chance goal with 6:26 remaining after Nick Bjugstad drove to the net.
Despite McDavid being in the penalty box for hooking, the Oilers took their first lead on Nurse’s ninth goal at 18:11 when he and Kailer Yamamoto broke in on Vejmelka 2-on-1.
After five goals and six penalties in the first period, the second period just had one goal, when Draisaitl scored his 46th, beating Vejmelka from the faceoff circle to the goalie’s left with 5:28 remaining to push the Oilers' lead to 4-2.
Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard (2) celebrates with left wing Warren Foegele after scoring a goal against the Arizona Coyotes in the first period during an NHL hockey game, Monday, March 27, 2023, in Tempe, Ariz. Credit: AP/Rick Scuteri
Maccelli's goal 3:52 into the third period cut it to 4-3, and Hayton tied it up less than a minute later.
ICE CHIPS
Oilers: LW Ryan McLeod (undisclosed) was a scratch.
Coyotes: D Josh Brown (upper body) returned after missing six games. Former Oiler RW Zack Kassian (upper body) was a scratch.
UP NEXT
Oilers: At Vegas on Tuesday night.
Coyotes: Host Minnesota on Friday night.
