Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists in the dynamic first period of his four-point night, propelling the Edmonton Oilers to a 4-1 victory over the winless Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.
Vasily Podkolzin got his sixth and seventh goals of the season, Leon Draisaitl also scored and Devon Levi made 39 saves for the Oilers, who have won five straight and scored at least three goals in every game of their 5-0-1 start.
McDavid recorded at least three points in a period for the 33rd time in his 11-year career, doing it in the first period for the 10th time. The six-time Art Ross Trophy winner as the NHL’s top scorer has a whopping 16 points already this season with five multi-point games.
Brandt Clarke scored for the Kings, who dropped to 0-3-2 to begin coach Peter Laviolette’s first season despite outshooting the Oilers 40-16.
Edmonton Oilers beat Sharks as McDavid posts 13th point of season
The Kings are still adjusting to their new direction under Laviolette, who wants offensive aggression from a team that has played deliberate, defence-first hockey for nearly two decades.
Los Angeles and Philadelphia are the NHL’s only winless teams.
Evan Bouchard had two assists for the Oilers, who are off to their strong start despite playing without injured Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Edmonton opened the scoring when McDavid froze Cody Ceci and fed the puck low to the quick-wristed Draisaitl.
One minute later, Podkolzin converted the rebound after McDavid blew past Mikey Anderson and blistered a shot off Darcy Kuemper.
Edmonton Oilers open training camp after off-season of controversial moves
After the Kings had pinned Edmonton in its own end for nearly two full shifts late in the first period, McDavid came off the bench, accepted Ty Emberson’s pass at the blue line in stride and scored his fourth goal.
Kuemper was replaced by Anton Forsberg to start the second.
Clarke scored late in the second period on a long shot through traffic.
The goal was Clarke’s first since Los Angeles’ young defensive cornerstone inked a five-year, $37 million deal last June.
McDavid and Draisaitl assisted on Podkolzin’s empty-net goal.
The Oilers host the Utah Mammoth on Thursday.
