Draisaitl doubles up as Oilers down Rangers 3-1; McDavid streak hits 19
Two Leon Draisaitl goals and 28 saves from Devon Levi gave Edmonton a 3-1 win over New York, as Connor McDavid stretched his season-opening point streak to 19 games.
Edmonton keeps finding ways, and history keeps following Connor McDavid around. The Oilers beat the New York Rangers 3-1 at Rogers Place on Monday, with McDavid's opening goal extending his season-opening point streak to 19 games — just the fourth streak of 19 or more to start a season in NHL history, and the first since Dany Heatley in 2005-06, per NHL.com.
Gifts accepted
McDavid's goal at 6:42 of the first period came the easy way: Rangers goalie Dylan Garand's clearing attempt caromed off the back of the net, and McDavid pounced. Leon Draisaitl doubled the lead early in the second with a wrist shot through Garand's legs — a New York goaltender-interference challenge was rejected on review — before Jaroslav Chmelar answered short-handed off a Mika Zibanejad stretch pass, moments after the Rangers had killed off a 5-on-3.
That was as close as it got. Devon Levi stopped 28 shots to improve to 8-1-0, and Draisaitl sealed it with an empty-netter from his own zone in the final two minutes — his NHL-leading 18th goal of the season. "I think he's the main reason that we won the game," Draisaitl said of Levi.
Streaks, kept and broken
McDavid now leads the league with 48 points (11 goals, 37 assists), though his 18-game assist streak to open the season ended — the rare night he settled for merely scoring. Edmonton improved to 13-3-3 and swept the season series with New York after a 4-1 win at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 1, per the Lethbridge Herald.
The Rangers, 10-8-1 after a three-game win streak ended, outshot their frustration but not Levi. "We outplayed them today and we deserved a better fate," said captain J.T. Miller. Coach Mike Sullivan agreed on the effort: "For whatever reason, it was a struggle to put the puck in the net tonight."