All posts by The Associated Press

Binnington’s 3rd shutout leads Blues to 8th straight win

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) Jordan Binnington matched a franchise rookie record with his seventh straight victory, Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice and the St. Louis Blues stretched their longest winning streak in 18 years to eight games with a 4-0 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night.

Joel Edmundson scored early in the first and had an assist on Tarasenko's goal late in the period. Tarasenko put the Blues up 3-0 late in the second period with a power-play goal, giving him nine goals and eight assists during a career-high 10-game points streak.

Robert Bortuzzo scored his second goal of the third period for the Blues, who have their longest winning streak since 2000-01. St. Louis is 14-4-1 in 2019, including 9-2-1 on the road.

Binnington made 21 saves to match Brent Johnson's rookie franchise record winning streak set in 2000-01. Binnington had a shutout in his first career NHL start on Jan. 7 and has two more while going 11-1-1.

Darcy Kuemper stopped 20 shots for Arizona, which has lost six of eight after a ragged opening period against the Blues.

The Coyotes have dominated the series with St. Louis recently, winning the three previous games by a combined score of 17-3. Arizona rolled over the Blues in the first meeting this season on Dec. 1, all but chasing goalie Chad Johnson out of St. Louis by scoring all its goals against him in a 6-1 win.

St. Louis has been a different team since the start of the new year, though, winning behind Binnington and a high-scoring offense.

The Blues jumped on the Coyotes early Thursday night, dominating the puck until scoring 3 1/2 minutes in when Edmundson swept a rolling pass from Jaden Schwartz past Kuemper's right pad.

Tarasenko made it 2-0 with his 23rd goal, lifting his stick waist-high to deflect a pass from Edmundson under Kuemper's left arm.

Tarasenko stretched the lead to three goals late in the second period, one-timing a pass from Brayden Schenn at the left circle for his 24th of the season.

Notes: The teams' final meeting this season will be March 12 in St. Louis. ... Coyotes C Brad Richardson returned after missing 13 games with an upper-body injury. ... Blues LW David Perron missed his seventh straight game with an upper-body injury.

UP NEXT

The Blues play at Colorado on Saturday.

The Coyotes host Toronto on Saturday.

---

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Blues trounce Devils, extend winning streak to 7 games

ST. LOUIS (AP) Alex Pietrangelo and Ivan Barbashev each scored twice and the St. Louis Blues won their seventh straight game, blowing out the New Jersey Devils 8-3 on Tuesday night.

Jaden Schwartz, Ryan O'Reilly, Mackenzie MacEachern and Tyler Bozak also scored for the Blues, whose eight goals were a season high. St. Louis' winning streak is its longest since Jan. 17-Feb. 5, 2015, when it also had seven consecutive victories.

Rookie Jordan Binnington made 20 saves to win his sixth straight start, becoming the second goalie in Blues history with a winning streak of at least six games. Brent Johnson twice won seven in a row in 2000 and 2001. Binnington is 10-1-1 since he made his first career start on Jan. 7.

Pavel Zacha, Kyle Palmieri and Mirco Mueller scored for the Devils, who have lost 10 straight to St. Louis. In the last 16 meetings between the teams, the Blues are 14-2-0.

St. Louis' Vladimir Tarasenko had two assists, extending his point streak to a career-high nine games (seven goals, seven assists).

Keith Kinkaid allowed all eight St. Louis goals, a career high, on 39 shots, and fell to 0-4-1 against the Blues.

The Blues scored three goals on 20 shots in the first period to take a 3-1 lead.

Pietrangelo scored at 5:08 on a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle. The puck hit Jesper Bratt's stick and deflected in.

The Blues went ahead 2-0 93 seconds later. Kinkaid cleared the puck from behind the net, but his pass went directly to the Blues' Robert Thomas, whose shot hit the post. The rebound came to Barbashev, who scored from just outside the crease.

Zacha got New Jersey within 2-1 at 10:30 on a slap shot from the right circle.

Schwartz got his first goal in 23 games - a span of 73 shots - late in the first. He appeared to score again early in the second period, but the goal was disallowed because of goalie interference when Schwartz slid into Kinkaid.

The Blues got three more goals in the second period. O'Reilly got his 21st of the season 30 seconds in on a wrist shot from the top of the slot. MacEachern scored on a breakaway on a pass from Pietrangelo at 6:11. Bozak made it 6-1 when he scored at 15:20.

Each team scored twice in the third period, including Pietrangelo's and Barbashev's second goals. Barbashev's was short-handed.

NOTES: Blues F Pat Maroon went past 500 career penalty minutes when he was given an unsportsmanlike conduct with 2 seconds left in the second period. ... St. Louis improved to 11-2-1 in its last 14 games. ... The Devils fell to 3-7-1 in their last 11. ... New Jersey C Blake Coleman was a late scratch with an upper-body injury. Nick Lappin replaced him. ... New Jersey claimed LW Kenny Agostino off waivers Monday after Montreal released him. Agostino started Tuesday's game and got an assist on Zacha's goal.

UP NEXT

Devils: At Chicago on Thursday.

Blues: At Arizona on Thursday.

---

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Murray’s 50 saves propel Penguins past Flyers

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Matt Murray made 50 saves and Sidney Crosby had a goal and a two assists to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night.

Jake Guentzel and Nick Bjugstad also scored and Kris Letang had an empty-netter for the Penguins, who snapped a four-game losing streak while winning for just the fourth time in the last 12. Pittsburgh entered holding the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Jakub Voracek scored for Philadelphia, which lost for just the second time in 11 games. The Flyers could've pulled within four points of Pittsburgh with a victory, but now stand eight points behind the Penguins.

Flyers rookie goalie Carter Hart had his eight-game win streak halted, falling one game shy of setting an NHL record for consecutive victories prior to turning 21 years old. The 20-year-old also finished a game short of tying Pelle Lindbergh for the Flyers' rookie record for wins in a row. Hart had 24 saves.

Murray was a wall for the Penguins, withstanding an offensive flurry by Philadelphia that included a franchise-record 28 shots in the second period.

Crosby put the Penguins up 1-0 with a fluky goal with 11:41 left in the first period. Hart lost sight of the puck behind the net and it caromed off the glass to Crosby to the right of the crease. With Hart still looking the other way, Crosby shot into the empty half of the net for his 24th of the season and 40th goal in 65 career games against Philadelphia. The Penguins' star has scored against the Flyers more than any other team.

Bjugstad made it 2-0 7:04 into the second with a wrist shot from a sharp angle, an uncharacteristically soft goal for Hart. It was the sixth of the season for Bjustad and his first with the Penguins since being acquired from Florida on Feb. 1.

The Flyers appeared to score with 7:07 left in the second when Nolan Patrick's rebound crossed the goal line, but the referee whistled the play dead when he thought Murray had gloved Travis Konecny's initial shot.

Guentzel scored on a wraparound with 5:14 remaining in the third to make it 3-0. It was the team-leading 27th goal for Guentzel.

Voracek finally got Philadelphia on the board 40 seconds later on the power play, when he lifted the puck over Murray from close range.

The Flyers gained the man-advantage when Pittsburgh center Evgeni Malkin received a match penalty with 4:54 left for hitting Michael Raffl in the head with his stick. Malkin returned after missing five straight games due to an upper body injury and had an assist.

NOTES: Pittsburgh D Olli Maatta didn't return after being checked into the boards by Phil Varone with six minutes left in the first. . The teams will next play each other on Feb. 23 in an outdoor game at Lincoln Financial Field, the home of the Philadelphia Eagles. The season series is tied 1-1, as the Flyers won 4-2 ON Dec. 1 in Pittsburgh. . Hart was the seventh different Flyers goalie, including six starters, to appear in the last seven meetings against Pittsburgh. ... Letang passed Paul Coffey for most goals by a Penguins defenseman.

UP NEXT

Pittsburgh: Play the first of three straight at home against Edmonton on Wednesday.

Philadelphia: At Minnesota on Tuesday.

---

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Red-hot Flyers hand free-falling Ducks 7th straight loss

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Carter Hart made 30 saves for his eighth straight victory, Sean Couturier had a goal and two assists and the Philadelphia Flyers scored four times in the first period to rout the slumping Anaheim Ducks 6-2 on Saturday.

Michael Raffl, Oskar Lindblom, Phil Varone, Nolan Patrick and Travis Konecny also scored for the Flyers, who have won nine of 10.

Adam Henrique and Nick Ritchie scored for Anaheim, which lost its seventh in a row and 19th in the last 21 while ending a forgettable six-game road trip. The Ducks have been outscored 37-8 during their skid.

Ryan Getzlaf had two assists while playing in his 967th contest, which set a club record for most games with the Ducks.

The 20-year-old Hart tied an NHL record for most consecutive victories before turning 21, matching former Quebec netminder Jocelyn Thibault's performance in March 1995. Hart helped the Flyers to a fast start, denying Jakob Silfverberg on a breakaway with a glove save 1:15 into the contest.

Hart rested in favor of Anthony Stolarz in Thursday's 3-2 shootout loss to Los Angeles that snapped Philadelphia's eight-game winning streak.

Kevin Boyle made 24 saves in his NHL debut in his relief of Chad Johnson, who was lifted after the first period for allowing four goals on 14 shots. Johnson was in net in place of All-Star John Gibson, who suffered an upper body injury in the third period of the Ducks' 4-0 loss at Ottawa on Thursday.

Varone got the goal-barrage started in the first by scoring from close range with a shot over Johnson's right arm 2:44 into the contest.

Couturier's wrist shot from the left circle went off the post and in with 9:36 left in the period to make it 2-0, and Raffl added another with a short-handed tally 1 1/2 minutes later with a wrist shot that beat Johnson on the glove side after a great outlet pass from Scott Laughton.

And Lindblom finished Philadelphia's first-period burst with a bit of luck, as Couturier's pass in front went off Lindblom's skate and over the goal line with 2:14 left in the period.

Boyle kept the Flyers off the board with a solid, 13-save second period, and the Ducks got a power-play goal 51 seconds into the second when Henrique finished Ritchie's pass from behind the net.

Notes: Philadelphia traded F Dale Weise and D Christian Folin to Montreal for D David Schlemko and F Byron Froese. Schlmeko and Froese will report to Philadelphia's AHL Lehigh Valley affiliate. . The Flyers swept the season series. They also won at Anaheim, 3-2 on Oct. 30. . Hart has allowed 19 goals on 290 shots during his winning streak.

UP NEXT

Anaheim: Play first of three straight at home vs. Vancouver on Wednesday.

Philadelphia: End five-game homestand against Pittsburgh Monday.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Islanders shut out Ducks for 5th straight win

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) Cal Clutterbuck scored twice in the first period and Robin Lehner made 19 saves as the New York Islanders downed the Anaheim Ducks 3-0 on Sunday for their fifth straight win.

The victory was the 15th in 18 games for the Metropolitan Division-leading Islanders, who have surged past Washington and Columbus over the past month. The Islanders have one game remaining - Tuesday at Chicago - before the All-Star break.

Clutterbuck opened the scoring at 4:50 of the first with a power-play goal. The 31-year-old forward completed a slick passing sequence by whipping the puck from the slot past former Islanders goaltender Chad Johnson. It was the sixth straight game in which the Islanders scored first.

Josh Bailey and Anthony Beauviller assisted. Bailey moved past Bob Nystrom on the team's all-time assist list with 279 and into a tie with Pat LaFontaine for 12th place. Bailey, who is tied with captain Anders Lee for second on the team in points with 37, has three goals and three assists in last seven games.

Clutterbuck scored again from a nearly identical spot midway through the first for his sixth goal of the season.

Clutterbuck, in his sixth season with the Islanders, also scored in Friday's 2-0 win at Washington, which moved the Islanders past the Capitals into the division lead.

Leo Komarov scored his sixth this season with 29 seconds remaining in the second period.

The Islanders are 12-2-0 since rookie defenseman Devon Toews, who assisted on Komarov's goal, joined the lineup for the first time on Dec 23.

Lehner, who leads the league in goals-against average, won for the 11th time his last 12 games. The 27-year-old Swedish goalie has been a revelation since he signed a one-year free-agent contract with the Islanders last summer after he was let go by the Buffalo Sabres.

Lehner improved to 15-7-3 on the season and registered his third shutout.

The Islanders have allowed one goal or less 16 times this season, including each of their last four games. They have surrendered two goals or fewer in nine of their last 12.

The Islanders held the Capitals and Devils to less than 20 shots in their previous two wins, and then did it again against the Ducks, who came in with a two-game winning streak after losing their previous 12.

NOTES: The Islanders scratched F Tom Kuhnhackl, F Ross Johnston and D Luca Sbisa. ... Anaheim scratched Ds Michael Del Zotto and Andre Sustr and F Justin Kloos. ... The Ducks won this season's previous meeting, 4-1, on Oct. 17 at Anaheim.

UP NEXT

Islanders: Visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night before the All-Star break.

Ducks: Host the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday before All-Star break.

---

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Toews, Kane help Blackhawks sink Capitals to 5th straight loss

CHICAGO (AP) Jonathan Toews had three goals and two assists, Patrick Kane added two goals and two assists, and the Chicago Blackhawks handed the Washington Capitals their season-high fifth consecutive loss with an 8-5 victory on Sunday.

Brandon Saad and Alex DeBrincat also scored and Dylan Strome added an empty-netter as last-place Chicago stopped its own five-game slide. Collin Delia made 34 saves, including impressive stops on John Carlson and Tom Wilson in the second.

Washington's defensemen accounted for each of its five goals while star forwards Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov were kept off the scoresheet. Carlson scored twice, Dmitry Orlov and Matt Niskanen each had a goal and an assist, and Brooks Orpik got his second of the season.

Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby allowed four goals on 11 shots before he was replaced by Pheonix Copley 2:30 into the second.

It was Washington's first game in Chicago since Devante Smith-Pelly heard chants of ''basketball, basketball, basketball'' while the black forward was sitting in the penalty box in the third period of a 7-1 loss last February. The fans were promptly ejected, and then banned from Chicago's home games.

Smith-Pelly was sent off for unsportsmanlike conduct in the second period of Sunday's loss, but there was no sign of any incident.

Carlson trimmed Chicago's lead to 4-3 when he blew a one-timer past Delia 3:09 into the third. Kane responded with a power-play goal, and Toews sent a wrist shot past Copley to make it 6-3 at 7:20.

It was Kane's 14th goal in his last 14 games. He has seven goals and 12 assists during an eight-game point streak.

After Washington pulled within one again on goals by Carlson and Niskanen, Toews danced around Orlov and beat Copley with 5:03 remaining. Toews' 21st goal made it 7-5 and completed his sixth career hat trick.

It was part of an up-and-down day for Orlov, who got his third goal of the season when his shot from the left boards went under Delia 15:24 into the second. But he also batted a puck out of the air and over Holtby to hand Toews his first goal 14:53 into the first.

NOTES: Blackhawks D Henri Jokiharju was a healthy scratch. The 19-year-old Jokiharju has no goals and 12 assists in 36 games in his first NHL season. ''We've got some young players. Eighty-two game season, it's hard to keep that level night-in and night-out,'' coach Jeremy Colliton said. ''So we may end up with a rotation where they're able to, it's not necessarily performance specifically why they're coming out.'' ... First-year Capitals coach Todd Reirden is from nearby Deerfield, about 30 miles north of Chicago. ''I didn't have to get a lot of tickets. I do have a lot of passes,'' a smiling Reirden said. The varsity and junior-varsity hockey teams from Deerfield High School were part of the group from Reirden's hometown expected at the game. ... Blackhawks F Brendan Perlini (concussion protocol) was scratched. John Hayden replaced him in the lineup.

UP NEXT

Capitals: Host the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.

Blackhawks: Host the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.

---

Jay Cohen can be reached at https://twitter.com/jcohenap

---

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Wheeler, Scheifele lift Jets over Avalanche in barn burner

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) Blake Wheeler had a goal and three assists, Mark Scheifele got his 23rd goal and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Colorado Avalanche 7-4 on Tuesday night.

Mathieu Perreault, Kyle Connor, Bryan Little, Andrew Copp and Jacob Trouba also scored for Winnipeg. Trouba, Scheifele and Tyler Myers each had two assists.

Gabriel Landeskog scored twice and tied a career high with his 27th goal for Colorado. Carl Soderberg had a goal and an assist, and Ryan Graves also scored.

Connor Hellebuyck made 37 saves for the Jets, who have won two straight and improved to 3-3 in their last six games.

Philipp Grubauer stopped 14 shots for Colorado, which had ended a six-game skid with a 6-1 win over the Rangers on Friday.

The Jets scored three times on the power play and once short-handed to lead 4-3 after the second period. They led 4-1 early in the second, but the Avalanche scored twice late in the period.

Copp scored at 3:59 of the third and Scheifele made it 6-3 after Wheeler intercepted a pass and sent the puck to him on a breakaway. Scheifele's shot hit Grubauer, the puck flew up and Scheifele swatted it into the net at 11:12 for his 23rd of the season.

Landeskog scored with just over three minutes remaining.

NOTES: Barrie stretched his point streak to five games with one goal and seven assists. ... Trouba finished Winnipeg's scoring with an empty-net goal on the power play with 1:06 remaining.

UP NEXT

Avalanche: Continue five-game trip at Calgary on Wednesday night.

Jets: Play at Minnesota on Thursday night.

---

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Blues’ Binnington shuts out Flyers in 1st NHL start

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko scored and Jordan Binnington stopped 25 shots in his first NHL start to lead the St. Louis Blues past the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0 on Monday night in a listless game between two of the worst teams in the league.

The Blues' win gave them 38 points and moved them past Los Angeles out of last place in the Western Conference. Only Ottawa has fewer points than the Flyers (36) in the East after Philadelphia's seventh straight loss. Both teams fired their coaches this season.

Schenn scored his ninth goal of the season on a rebound off the Carter Hart's pads 41 seconds into the second period for the 1-0 lead. Tarasenko scored midway through the third to become the 20th active player to score against 30 other teams while playing for one franchise.

Binnington, a third-round pick in the 2011 draft, made the lead stand and needed to make only eight saves in the third. David Perron scored an empty-netter in the final minutes.

The 25-year-old Binnington had played just two games in mop-up duty this season behind Jake Allen. He was sent to the minors in December to keep fresh and earned three wins with a shutout to earn AHL player of the week honors. He was called up - and got the call to start against the hapless Flyers.

''It's whole different feel,'' Binnington said at morning skate. ''You can do your own routines and know you're starting the game off and you can dictate the whole game.''

Binnington wasn't challenged much in a half-empty Wells Fargo Center. Once of the NHL's loudest and craziest buildings, the crowds have dwindled with each defeat and the few fans that showed on Monday mostly sat on their hands and booed.

The exception came when Gritty - their popular, googily-eyed mascot - wore a blindfold ''Bird Box'' style and kicked a Nerf football into the stands on a field-goal attempt as part of the ''Cody Parkey Challenge.'' The Chicago Bears kicker had a field goal blocked in the final seconds that gave the Philadelphia Eagles a 16-15 upset win in an NFC wild-card playoff win. Flyers fans roared, breaking into the ''Fly! Eagles! Fly!'' fight song when Parkey's missed kick was shown on the video screen.

This is how sad the season has become for the Flyers - the fans can only cheer for other team's highlights. They used to root for Schenn when he starred for the Flyers for six seasons. He scored 59 points in 2015-16 and 55 points the next season before he was traded for the Blues. The Flyers had another reminder of better days on the Blues bench: coach Craig Berube led the Flyers to the playoffs in 2014 and was fired the following the season. The Flyers fired his successor, Dave Hakstol, last month and have failed to win a playoff series since 2012.

The Flyers have scored only 12 goals over their seven-game losing streak, their longest losing streak since they went 0-5-5 over November-December last season.

NOTES: Blues F Alexander Steen left with an undisclosed injury. ... Blues C Tyler Bozak missed the game with the flu.

UP NEXT

Blues: Host Dallas on Tuesday.

Flyers: Play Tuesday at Washington.

-----

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Blackhawks end Penguins’ winning streak at 8 games

PITTSBURGH (AP) Dylan Strome broke a tie 1:48 into the third period and the Chicago Blackhawks beat Pittsburgh 5-3 on Sunday night to end the Penguins' winning streak at eight games.

Strome scored seconds after a power-play expired, beating fallen goalie Casey DeSmith off a pass from Patrick Kane. Jonathan Toews added an empty-net goal and had an assist to run his points streak to six games.

Alex DeBrincat scored on a power play for his 19th of the season, and Chris Kunitz and Duncan Keith both scored their first for the Blackhawks. They won their 10th straight against the Penguins, including five straight in Pittsburgh. The Blackhawks haven't lost to the Penguins since March 30, 2014, in Pittsburgh.

Chicago snapped a two-game skid and has won three of five and six of nine following an eight-game losing streak in November.

Kane had three assists. He's the 20th player in NHL history and the first American-born skater to begin his career with at least 12 straight seasons with 30-plus assists. Cam Ward stopped 31 shots.

Jake Guentzel, Patric Hornqvist and Derick Brassard scored for the Penguins, and DeSmith stopped 26 shots.

Pittsburgh scored twice in the first 4:33.

Hornqvist opened the scoring at 2:43 with a blocker-side, one-timer from the right faceoff dot, and Guentzel gave Pittsburgh a two-goal lead when he swept a rebound underneath Ward from the top of the crease.

DeBrincat put Chicago on the board with a power-play goal. He scored his eighth goal in 13 games on a one-timer from Kane.

Kunitz tied it for Chicago at 6:46 of the second period. Kunitz, who won three Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh, scored on a night when the Penguins honored their 2009 Stanley Cup championship team.

The Penguins regained the lead at 9:49 of the second when Brassard squeezed a one-timer from Phil Kessel between Ward's pads from the right circle. Keith tied it at 3 with a slap shot from the left point just as a power play expired.

NOTES: Penguins' D Kris Letang played in his 722nd career game, tied with Rick Kehoe for sixth on the franchise list. Letang's assist gives him a seven-game points streak. ... Chicago D Erik Gustafsson has a five-game points streak after registering an assist. . F Drake Caggiula made his Blackhawks debut after he was acquired in a trade with Edmonton on Dec. 31. ... Penguins D Justin Schultz, who has not played since Oct. 13, skated on his own for the first time before Pittsburgh's practice Saturday.

UP NEXT

Blackhawks: Host Calgary on Monday night.

Penguins: Host Florida on Tuesday night.

---

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/tag/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Talbot’s 1st shutout of the season leads Oilers to bounce-back win over Ducks

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl scored again, Cam Talbot made 39 saves for his first shutout this season and the Edmonton Oilers earned their second victory in nine games by beating the skidding Anaheim Ducks 4-0 on Sunday night.

It was a strong bounce-back win for the Oilers, who lost 4-0 to Los Angeles on Saturday night. They scored three goals in the first period for the second time this season and controlled action on both ends of the ice despite being outshot 39-24.

McDavid, who began the day fifth in the NHL in scoring, has five goals in his last seven games. Draisaitl has seven in the past seven games.

Jesse Puljujarvi and Kyle Brodziak also scored. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Caleb Jones each had two assists.

Anaheim has lost eight straight after winning four in a row and nine of 10. John Gibson made 20 saves for the Ducks, who are 0-2-2 during a six-game homestand - their longest of the season.

The Oilers opened the scoring at 7:37 of the first period when McDavid finally was able to get the puck under Gibson's blocker on his third attempt from in front for his 24th goal of the season. A no-look backhand from the slot by Puljujarvi at 16:05 and a short-handed goal by Brodziak with 11 seconds remaining marked the first time since Jan. 21, 2017, at Calgary, that the Oilers have led by three or more on the road at the end of 20 minutes.

It was the third time this season Anaheim had allowed three goals in the first period but it was the first time it trailed by three or more in the period since Feb. 3 last season at Montreal.

Draisaitl scored at 7:25 of the second when he corralled a shot by Jones that was blocked by Anaheim's Ondrej Kase and fired a wrist shot past Gibson to make it 4-0.

NOTES: Anaheim D Cam Fowler played in his first game since missing 23 after taking a puck to the face Nov. 12 against Nashville. The puck ended up breaking Fowler's right orbital bone, right cheekbone and right jaw bone, requiring surgery. ... Brodziak has four short-handed goals since the start of last season. ... Anaheim executive vice president/general manager Bob Murray became the fifth person in NHL history to both play and serve 1,000 games as a GM. He joined Bobby Clarke, Bob Gainey, Bob Pulford and Doug Wilson.

UP NEXT

Oilers: Play at San Jose on Tuesday.

Ducks: Host Ottawa on Wednesday.

---

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.