Zach Hyman scored a natural hat trick in a span of 8:44 in the first period as the Edmonton Oilers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory against the host Seattle Kraken on Saturday night.
Dylan Holloway also tallied for the Oilers, who had lost eight of their past nine games and entered the weekend tied with San Jose with an NHL-low five points. Goaltender Stuart Skinner made 17 saves for just his second victory in nine starts.
Jaden Schwartz scored for Seattle, which had gone 3-1-1 over its previous five games. Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer was pulled after allowing four goals on 17 shots in the first period. Joey Daccord stopped all nine shots he faced the rest of the way.
Hyman opened the scoring at 9:56 on a backhander from the slot following a pass from Evander Kane on a 2-on-1 rush.
Hyman, stationed in front of the net, knocked home a rebound on the power play at 14:09, with assists from Evan Bouchard and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Hyman scored his third unassisted at 18:40, finding the puck after a wild scramble in front of the net.
Holloway tallied at 19:42 of the period to make it 4-0 after a lively carom off the end boards bounced back in front of the net and he tapped the puck inside the left post before Grubauer could react. Ryan McLeod and Cody Ceci were credited with assists.
Schwartz extended his point streak to nine games (six goals, six assists) with his team-leading eighth goal of the season on the power play at 2:25 of the third period, redirecting Eeli Tolvanen’s pass inside the left post. Vince Dunn also got an assist on the play, his team-leading 11th.
Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, who led the league with a career-high 64 goals last season, saw his goalless drought extended to eight games. McDavid had two shots in 20:41 of ice time.
Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl each have one goal over the past 10 games, helping explain the Oilers’ recent skid.
–Field Level Media