Scout’s Analysis: What Leafs get in Benning, Sharks in Liljegren

The Toronto Maple Leafs traded Timothy Liljegren Wednesday after the 17th overall pick from the 2017 draft couldn’t crack Craig Berube’s lineup. Here’s a look at why the trade had to happen, and what the Leafs are getting back in Matt Benning.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Leon Draisaitl scored two goals and assisted another to lead the Edmonton Oilers to a 5-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night.

Viktor Arvidsson, Corey Perry and Zach Hyman also scored, and Calvin Pickard made 26 saves for the Oilers, who have won three of their last four. Edmonton played its first game since losing team captain Connor McDavid to an ankle injury in the first period of Monday night’s 6-1 loss to the Blue Jackets.

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Filip Forsberg scored, and Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators.

Playing in his first career NHL game, Edmonton’s Noah Philp picked up the secondary assist on Perry’s first-period goal for his first NHL point.

Takeaways

Oilers: After scoring a career-high 54 goals last season, Hyman had not scored this season prior to beating Saros with 7:14 remaining in the game. With McDavid sidelined for the next 2-3 weeks, Thursday’s goal could jump-start Hyman’s production at a time when the Oilers need others to contribute on the scoresheet.

Predators: Nashville was 3-0-1 in its last four games prior to Thursday night’s dreadful performance. If the Predators hope to climb out of their early-season hole, they need to find consistent scoring aside from Forsberg, who leads the team with five goals.

Key moment

The Oilers dominated the game’s first shift, picking up three shots on goal and two other shot attempts before Arvidsson beat Saros for his first goal as an Oiler just 37 seconds into the game.

Key stat

With two goals and an assist Thursday, Draisaitl now has 27 goals and 19 assists in 28 games played against Nashville. He has six games with at least three points in his last nine played against Nashville.

Up next

Edmonton concludes a four-game trip Sunday in Calgary, while the Predators host the Avalanche on Saturday.