Brett Kulak scored two goals, and Connor McDavid added his first goal of the season to help the Edmonton Oilers beat the struggling Nashville Predators 4-2 on Thursday night.
Jeff Skinner also scored, and Calvin Pickard made 25 saves for the defending Western Conference champion Oilers, who have won two games in a row after starting the season with three losses.
Filip Forsberg and Jonathan Marchessault scored for Nashville (0-4), while Juuse Saros made 32 saves.
Forsberg’s goal in the first period gave Nashville its first lead of the season, but that lead lasted less than six minutes before Kulak tied the game.
Kulak capped off the win with an empty-net goal in the final minute, marking the first time in his career he scored two goals in one game.
The powerful Edmonton power play is still struggling. After going 0 for 4 on Thursday, the Oilers are now 1 for 13 with the extra player. Last season, McDavid scored 32 goals and had a league-leading 100 assists, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, even though Edmonton lost the Stanley Cup Final to Florida.
Nashville is 0-4 for the first time since the 2002-03 season. The Predators didn’t expect this start after spending a lot in the offseason, adding Marchessault — who scored his first goal as a Predator — along with Steven Stamkos and Brady Skjei.
Just 44 seconds after Nashville tied the game at 2-2 late in the second period, McDavid grabbed a puck in the low slot and took a wrist shot that went over Saros.
