Connor McDavid and Evander Kane both scored two goals each, helping the Edmonton Oilers secure a spot in the playoffs with a 6-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night.
Corey Perry and Mattias Ekholm also scored for the Oilers, who stopped a two-game losing streak and have been performing exceptionally well at home, with a record of 9-0-1 in their last 10 games. Stuart Skinner, the Oilers’ goaltender, made 21 saves.
The Oilers were in a difficult position in late November, trailing by 10 points in the race for a playoff spot. “Things weren’t looking great, but we believed we could turn it around, and we did,” said Kane. “It feels good.” The Oilers aimed for a strong performance after a disappointing 5-0 loss to Dallas on Wednesday.
“It was much needed. It wasn’t the team or the game we usually play,” said Leon Draisaitl, who had two assists. “But what matters most is how we respond, and that’s something we’ve been good at over the years, including playoffs. We respond well to poor efforts or bad games.”
Jonathan Drouin and Ross Colton scored for the Avalanche, who have lost four of their last six games. Alexandar Georgiev, the Avalanche’s goaltender, made 41 saves, but his team was outshot 46-23.
“We just weren’t good enough,” said Colorado coach Jared Bednar. “Sometimes it happens, and it happened tonight. They were better than us, with more shots and more goals.”
Edmonton took an early lead just 1:52 into the game when Perry deflected Darnell Nurse’s shot into the net.
The Avalanche responded with a goal from Drouin to tie the game, followed by Colton giving them the lead. However, the Oilers bounced back to tie it 2-2 before the end of the first period, with McDavid scoring his 30th goal of the season.
In the second period, Ekholm’s hard hit on Mikko Rantanen raised concerns for the Avalanche, as Rantanen left the game and did not return.
