Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl (29) celebrates his goal with teammates Jesse Puljujarvi (13) and Warren Foegele (37) as Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault looks on during second-period NHL hockey action in Montreal, Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022.The Canadian Press
Zach Hyman and Leon Draisaitl each scored twice, and Evander Kane found the back of the net in his Oilers debut, leading Edmonton to an easy 7-2 win over the struggling Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Derek Ryan also scored for Edmonton (22-16-2) in the lopsided win. Hyman and Nugent-Hopkins had an assist apiece, while Duncan Keith and Warren Foegele each chipped in with two helpers.
Stuart Skinner made 21 saves from 23 shots as Edmonton won its fourth in a row.
The Oilers scored three goals in the first period and another three in the second.
Josh Anderson and Tyler Toffoli replied for the Canadiens (8-28-7), which lost their fifth straight game.
Coach Dominique Ducharme pulled his starting goalie for the second time in as many games.
Samuel Montembeault allowed six goals on 16 shots before being pulled after two periods. In relief, Cayden Primeau blocked seven of eight shots fired his way.
For the first time in 12 games, the Oilers scored first, and they scored three in quick succession.
It took Kane 11:21 to score his first goal as an Oiler as Edmonton’s newest signing redirected Evan Bouchard’s shot from the point.
Hyman then redirected Kris Russell’s shot from the point to notch a 2-0 lead at 12:48.
Draisaitl got his 30th goal of the season when his shot deflected on Rem Pitlick’s skate at 13:08, giving Edmonton a 3-0 advantage by the end of the first period.
The three goals were scored less than three minutes apart.
Anderson got a goal back early in the second period when he grabbed Skinner’s rebound and tapped in a first goal for Montreal.
The Oilers responded when Hyman fought off Ben Chiarot in the corner and found Nugent-Hopkins with a cross-ice pass. The centreman beat Montembeault at 6:18 for his fourth goal of the season.
Hyman then got his second of the night with a sharp wrist shot at 14:20.
Toffoli scored a one-timer power-play goal for Montreal to make it a 5-2 game but the celebration was short lived. Draisaitl needed just 24 seconds to answer with his second marker of the night.
To cap off Edmonton’s crushing victory, Ryan added a seventh goal with 34 seconds left in regulation.