McDavid hat trick helps Oilers even series with Hawks
Connor McDavid fired three goals to pull the Edmonton Oilers even with the Chicago Blackhawks with a 6-3 win in Game 2 of their Best of Five NHL Western Conference Qualification Series at Edmonton last night (August 3, 2020).
A pair of middle period goals pulled the Hawks back from a 3-1 deficit
but the final three came from the Oilers, the final pair 40-seconds apart just before the halfway mark of the third period.
Oilers outshot the Hawks 35-26 and stared out with a 17-9 margin through the opening 20.
McDavid needed just 19 seconds to get the Oilers on the board and he added another before the five-minute mark to send the Oilers on their way to the series tying win.
Patrick Kane pulled one back before the end of the first period but Tyler Ennis restored the two-goal margin for the Oilers early in the middle period.
Defensemen Slater Koekkoek and Olli Maata connected later in the period to pull the Hawks even, Kirby Dach with set ups on both goals and others for Kane and Alex Debrincat.
McDavid wrapped up his hat trick and put the Oilers in front to stay about two minutes after Maata tied it and insurance came from James Neal and Alex Chiasson in the third.
The Hawks did a decent job against the awesome Oilers’ powerplay, limiting them to one goal on five chances.
McDavid was perfect, scoring three goals on just three shots in the contest and it was defenseman Adam Larsson leading the winners with five shots in the game.
Kane once again led the Hawks with five shots on goal and he was on the ice for nearly 23 minutes. Duncan Keith continues to log the minutes for the blue liners, on the ice for 25:09.
John Quenneville suited up for the Hawks with Drake Caggiula serving a one-game suspension. Quenneville played 6:04 and picked up one of the team’s 10 hits on the night.
The Hawks will own home ice advantage, taking over the Oilers’ locker room and getting last change for the crucial third game which will be played at 9:30 p.m. tomorrow (August 5, 2020).
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jimmerdenhollander@gmail.com
Born and raised in Ontario, Canada and moved to the state of Wisconsin in my late 30's. I worked at various newspapers and magazines in various sports positions for 25 years before changing careers five years ago. Now I am streamlining my focus on hockey only and in particular, all levels of hockey in the American Midwest.