EDMONTON, Alberta — Connor McDavid had two assists and the streaking Edmonton Oilers overcame an early goal by rookie Connor Bedard to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Tuesday night in the first NHL matchup between the young stars.
Sam Gagner had a goal and an assist in the highly anticipated clash, helping the Oilers (13-12-1) win their eighth game in a row. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman also scored for Edmonton, and defenseman Evan Bouchard added a pair of assists.
Bedard gave the banged-up Blackhawks (9-18-1) a 1-0 lead with his 12th goal 3:21 into the first period, but Chicago lost its seventh consecutive road game.
McDavid was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2015, and Bedard was selected first this past summer.
Bedard struck first Tuesday on the second shot of the game. He took a long pass from Alex Vlasic for a partial breakaway and unleashed a deceptive shot that beat Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner glove-side to the top corner.
Another top overall draft pick tied the game midway through the opening period, as Nugent-Hopkins took a saucer pass on a give-and-go with McDavid and beat Blackhawks goalie Petr Mrazek for his sixth of the season.
McDavid extended his point streak to 10 games, and Bouchard got the secondary assist to stretch his point streak to 12 games. It is the second-longest run by a defenseman in Oilers history.
Edmonton took the lead with 1:41 to play in the first as Derek Ryan sent a backhand pass from behind the net to Gagner, who chipped it in for his fourth goal.
The Oilers got a gift with 6:36 remaining in the second when Chicago defender Nikita Zaitsev deflected Draisaitl’s pass into his own net. The goal was Draisaitl’s 12th of the season.
Edmonton made it 4-1 just 43 seconds into the third with a power-play goal. Hyman had an easy tap-in of a perfectly placed feed from McDavid for his 16th goal.