Draisaitl's 3-point game lifts Oilers past Predators 4-2

Leon Draisaitl had two goals and an assist and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Nashville Predators 4-2 on Tuesday night.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Josh Archibald also scored, and Connor McDavid picked up three assists for the Oilers, who are 5-1-1 in their last seven.

Filip Forsberg and Colin Blackwell scored for Nashville, which had its two-game willing streak halted.

Nugent-Hopkins opened scoring for Edmonton nine minutes into the first period when he sent a wrist shot up high past Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne off a face-off win. It was Nugent-Hopkins's 13th goal of the season and his sixth in seven games.

The Predators responded two minutes later on a beautiful goal by Forsberg, who came from behind the net and lifted the puck up, lacrosse style, and banked it in off Oilers starter Mike Smith for his 16th of the season.

Nashville took the lead with four minutes left in the opening period when they caught the Oilers on a bad line change. That allowed Nick Bonino to make a nice feed to Blackwell, who notched his second career NHL goal.

Edmonton pulled even with 18 seconds left in the first on the power play, as Draisaitl chipped in a rebound.

The Oilers surged back midway through the second period as McDavid fed it across to Archibald, who lifted it over a sprawling Rinne.

Draisaitl's goal into an empty net put the game away in the final minute. The backhander was his 27th goal of the season.

NOTES: It was the first of three meetings between the teams, who will play again on Feb. 8 at Rogers Place in Edmonton before the season series concludes in Nashville on March 2. ... The Predators have had nothing but success against the Oilers in recent years, coming into the game with a 14-1 record against Edmonton since Oct. 29, 2014. In that time, Rinne had won 12 consecutive starts. ... With Zack Kassian serving the first of a two-game suspension for an altercation with Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk, Archibald moved up to Edmonton's top line with McDavid.

UP NEXT

Predators: Host Anaheim Ducks on Thursday.

Oilers: Host Arizona Coyotes on Saturday.