EDMONTON — The Edmonton Oilers certainly won’t be ravaged with regrets during their holiday hiatus.
Viktor Arvidsson had a goal and an assist as the Oilers won their third game in a row, getting past the surging Ottawa Senators 3-1 on Sunday.
Arvidsson was playing in just his third game back after missing 15 games with an injury and was elevated to the first line — with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins absent due to an illness — scoring just his third goal of the NHL season.
“I was just trying to play my game, play with the puck and work hard. I think I created a lot of chances, so I’m happy with that,” Arvidsson said.
“I try to be ready when I come back. I’ve been hurt a lot in the last two years. I think I’m ready and I feel ready, so it feels good.”
Zach Hyman and Adam Henrique also scored for the Oilers (21-11-2) who have won 11 of their last 13 contests.
Hyman has been on an unbelievable heater with goals in six straight games and 10 goals in his last nine games since returning from an injury, giving him 13 goals on the season after scoring just three goals in his first 20 games.
“As long as you stick with your process and you’re playing the same way, if you’re playing well and getting looks, if you continue to stick with it and if your team has the confidence to stick with you which obviously the coaching staff did … it was just a 20-game kind of blip,” said the 32-year-old Toronto native.
“I thought I was playing well, I just wasn’t scoring.”
Hyman, who leads the NHL in goals scored in December, had a career year last season with 54 goals.
Both Oilers stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl had assists to extend their points streaks to nine games apiece. During that span Draisaitl has 20 points, while McDavid has 18.
Stuart Skinner made 21 saves in the Oilers' net.
“It was a really good, mature win by us. The guys played fantastic defensively,” Skinner said.
“I think we’re in a good spot. We’re finding ways to win games. We don’t want to lose two in a row, and we’ve been doing a pretty good job of that lately. I think the way we’ve been playing in all ends of the ice has been pretty consistent. Heading into the break we’re going to relax a bit and kick the legs up so we can feel rested coming into the rest of the season.”
Nick Cousins had the lone goal for the Senators (18-14-2) who had a season-high six-game winning streak snapped. Ottawa has won eight of its last 10 games.
“It’s frustrating, especially the way we’ve been playing,” said Sens defenceman Thomas Chabot. “We expected better out of ourselves tonight, but a hard back-to-back facing this team.
"Obviously, they’re a very talented team, so you’ve got to give them credit. And at the end of the day, we had a really good road trip, something that we can build off of."
Leevi Merilainen recorded 12 saves in the loss for the Senators, replacing injured Linus Ullmark to start the second. Ullmark started the game in net for the Senators and played the entire first period, making six saves on seven shots, but did not return for the second with what was reported as his back tightening up.
He was replaced by the 22-year-old Merilainen, who played in just his fourth career NHL game and second this season after earning his first NHL win on Saturday night against the Vancouver Canucks after being called up due to an undisclosed injury to usual backup Anton Forsberg.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 22, 2024.
Shane Jones, The Canadian Press