Zack Kassian and Milan Lucic both scored two goals, while Connor McDavid added a goal and an assist, sparking the Edmonton Oilers' 7-2 rout over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night at Rogers Place.
After a quick Buffalo goal that was eventually credited to Casey Mittelstadt, Edmonton scored three times in less than two minutes. Conor Sheary appeared to score the Sabres' opening goal at the 1:00 mark of the opening period, but Mittelstadt just got his stick on the shot deflecting it past Mikko Koskinen for the 1-0 lead.
Just 1:33 later, Kassian scored his first of two goals on the evening, a shot that redirected off Zach Bogosian's stick. Exactly 60 seconds later, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins put Edmonton on top. Nugent-Hopkins cut in front of the net and tipped Caleb Jones' shot by Carter Hutton, giving the Oilers a 2-1 lead. Moments later, Kassian's second of the evening put Edmonton up 3-1. Tobias Rieder beat Marco Scandella to the puck and fed Kassian in front for the tap-in by Hutton.
The Sabres pulled within a goal at 8:57 of the first on Evan Rodrigues' third of the season, but Connor McDavid made it 4-2 in the opening minute of the second and Edmonton never looked back.
Lucic put the Oilers up 5-2 about 4:30 later, ending Hutton's night. Linus Ullmark came off the bench for Buffalo and kept the Oilers out of the net for the rest of the second period. However, Lucic eventually added another early in the third. Leon Draisaitl made it 7-2 with a power play goal at 5:16 of the third, finishing off a McDavid chance.
Koskinen finished with 41 saves, while Ullmark stopped 11 shots in relief of Hutton, who ended up with seven saves.
GAME SUMMARY
Goal Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 1:00 - Casey Mittelstadt (7) (Conor Sheary, Rasmus Dahlin); 8:57 - Evan Rodrigues (3) (Vladimir Sobotka, Rasmus Ristolainen)EDM: 2:33 - Zack Kassian (3) (Kyle Brodziak, Tobias Rieder); 3:23 - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (15) (Caleb Jones); 4:28 - Zack Kassian (4) (Tobias Rieder)
Second Period:
BUF: NONEEDM: 0:24 - Connor McDavid (28) (Unassisted); 4:49 - Milan Lucic (3) (Unassisted)
Third Period:
BUF: NONEEDM: 3:50 - Milan Lucic (4) (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Adam Larsson); 5:16 - Leon Draisaitl (24) (PPG) (Connor McDavid, Darnell Nurse)
Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: NONEEDM: 9:55 - Matt Benning (Hooking - 2 min.)
Second Period:
BUF: NONEEDM: 16:47 - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Tripping - 2 min.)
Third Period:
BUF: 4:52 - Rasmus Dahlin (Delay of game - 2 min.)EDM: 11:15 - Jujhar Khaira (Holding - 2 min.); 13:24 - Matt Benning (Cross checking - 2 min.)
Shots on Goal:
BUF: 43 (15, 14, 14)EDM: 25 (8, 10, 7)
Goalies:
BUF: Linus Ullmark - 11 saves; Carter Hutton - 7 savesEDM: Mikko Koskinen - 41 saves
Power Plays:
BUF: 0 of 4 (0%)EDM: 1 of 1 (100%)
Three Stars:
- Zack Kassian - EDM
- Milan Lucic - EDM
- Mikko Koskinen - EDM
What's Next:
The Sabres' road trip through Western Canada continues on Wednesday in Calgary against the Flames. Calgary sits atop the division at 30-13-4 (64 points) and are riding a five-game winning streak. Hear the call on WGR Sports Radio 550 at 9:30 p.m. with pre-game coverage at 8:30 p.m.
