McDavid nets shootout winner as Oilers down Predators for 3rd straight victory
Bouchard also score for Edmonton, which will start 3-game road trip in Montreal next
The tide appears to be turning for Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.
McDavid scored the shootout winner and added a goal in regulation as the Oilers continued to dig their way out of a recent slump with a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
Evan Bouchard also scored for the Oilers (21-16-2) who've won three in a row after going 2-11-2 in their previous 15 games.
"We're starting to see some things in our game that we saw at the beginning of the year," McDavid said. "I think guys are getting the confidence back and we're getting the goaltending, Mikko [Koskinen] has been a rock back there.
Koskinen stopped all three Nashville shootout attempts and made 28 saves on the night.
"We are building our game and doing a lot of good things right now," Koskinen said. "There is still a lot of room to improve and if we do that it is going to be a really strong team at the end of the year."
WATCH l Oilers edge Predators with McDavid's slick shootout winner:
Filip Forsberg and Matt Duchene scored for the Predators (27-14-4), who lost for the first time in four games.
"I thought we played pretty well. We didn't give up too much," Duchene said. "I would love to see the chances, I feel like we had a few more than they did, their goalie played outstanding, he made some big saves.
"Juuse [Nashville goalie Juuse Saros] did as well for us, both goalies were good in the shootout. And when you get to the shootout, it's a bit of a coin flip, it's a big of a skills comp, and our shooters, including myself, weren't able to find one. That's the way it goes."
Saros stopped 44 shots.
Edmonton got that back with 32 seconds to play in the first as McDavid blazed up ice and cut past defender Matt Benning before putting his 21st of the season through the Saros' legs.
The Predators went ahead 2-1 seven-and-a-half minutes into the second period when Duchene elected to shoot on a two-on-one, notching his 21st high to the glove side past Koskinen.
The Oilers pulled even again with five minutes to play in the middle frame as a long point shot from Bouchard hit a defender and caromed into the net.
There was no scoring in the third, with Edmonton outshooting the Preds 43-26 through 60 minutes.
Overtime saw Darnell Nurse hitting a post for the Oilers.
The Oilers begin a three-game road trip in Montreal on Saturday. The Predators are off until Tuesday, when they will play host to the Vancouver Canucks.
