Another game, another win for the Edmonton Oilers.
The Oilers beat the Nashville Predators 4-1 on Saturday for their 16th win in a row to move within one victory of the longest winning streak in NHL history.
Edmonton (29-15-1) now begins the All-Star break and won’t have a chance to match the record held by the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins until February 6, when it visits the Vegas Golden Knights.
With the win, the Oilers tied the league’s second-longest single-season winning streak, held by 2016-17 Columbus Blue Jackets.
Connor McDavid led the way, tallying a goal and three assists, while Leon Draisaitl recorded a goal and two assists for the Oilers, who improved to 24-3-0 since November 24.
The Oilers, who last lost on December 19, are outscoring teams 61-24 during the winning streak and have a franchise-record streak of 14 consecutive games of allowing two goals or less.
Stuart Skinner had another solid showing between the pipes, turning aside 28 shots. He has yielded one goal in each of his last three games and has started 12 games during the winning streak, posting a 1.41 goals-against average in those outings.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins opened the scoring for Edmonton with a power-play goal in the first period and Zach Hyman ended the scoring with an empty-netter for his 30th goal of the season.
Draisaitl scored on the power-play for his 800th career point to reach that milestone in his 683rd game – the fourth-fastest player to reach that mark.
Colton Sissons had the lone goal for the Predators (26-22-1), who lost for the third time in four games.
Matthews scores league-leading 40th goal as Maple Leafs beat Jets
Auston Matthews reached a pair of milestones in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 4-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets, scoring his league-leading 40th goal to reach 600 career points.
Matthews, who has three more goals than the Florida Panthers’ Sam Reinhart, has scored in three straight games and has seven goals and three assists in his last six contests.
Playing in his 527th game, Matthews became the fastest skater in Toronto franchise history to 600 career points with his power-play goal with 4:32 to play in the third period.
Ilya Samsonov finished with 24 saves as the Maple Leafs (25-14-8) swept a home-and-home set with the Jets and extended their winning streak to three games.
Ryan Reaves, John Tavares and Simon Benoit also scored goals for Toronto in the final game for both teams before the All-Star break.
Winnipeg’s Dylan Samberg opened the scoring when the defenseman found the back of the net on the Jets’ first shot of the game 4:13 into the first period.
Mason Appleton added a late goal for the Jets (30-12-5), who lost their third straight game after losing just three of their previous 17 contests (14-1-2).
Rangers score 7 straight goals to rally by Senators
The New York Rangers are heading into the All-Star break on a positive note, rallying from a 2-0 deficit for a 7-2 win over the Ottawa Senators.
Artemi Panarin was one of six Ranger skaters recording multiple points, tallying a goal and two assists, as New York (30-16-3) bounced back from back-to-back defeats and enters the break atop the Metropolitan Division.
After falling behind 2-0, the Rangers erupted for five goals in the second period, tying the game on Chris Kreider’s 23rd goal of the season. New York took the lead just 39 seconds later on Zac Jones’ first goal.
With the victory, first-year Rangers coach Peter Laviolette moved into a tie for seventh place on the all-time wins list, sitting alongside Al Arbour with 782.
The Senators (18-25-2) lost in regulation for the first time since January 16 after going 3-0-2 in their previous five contests.
