GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Wins have been hard to come by for the Edmonton Oilers lately, but Connor McDavid keeps piling up points.
McDavid scored two goals and assisted on another to help the Oilers end a six-game losing streak Wednesday night with a 3-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes.
“We’ve been a streaky team all year,” McDavid said. “We’ve been doing well offensively. That’s what I’ve been looking for. We just need to find a way to get on a run.”
The 21-year-old center leads the Oilers with 23 goals and 61 points. He reached 60 points in 39 games - fastest for an Edmonton player since Mark Messier during the 1989-90 season.
McDavid began the night fourth in the NHL in scoring. He has 12 points in the past five games.
Leon Draisaitl scored his 22nd of the season for Edmonton, his sixth goal in five games. Draisaitl also had an assist and Mikko Koskinen stopped 29 shots for his 12th win.
“Like we played the last two periods, we have to keep playing like that every game,” Koskinen said. “(McDavid and Draisaitl) are unbelievable players. We need them every game.”
Brad Richardson scored for Arizona, which has lost three of four.
McDavid went end-to-end and got free for a 1-on-1 against Coyotes goalie Adin Hill at 6:17 of the second period. McDavid scored with a backhand from in close, putting the Oilers ahead 2-1.
Arizona pulled Hill, who made 21 saves, in the last two minutes of the third period for an extra attacker. McDavid scored into an empty net with 45 seconds left.
Richardson, playing for the first time since before Christmas due to illness, scored his team-leading 11th goal at 12:08 of the first. He creeped toward the front of the net and was waiting to knock in the rebound of Richard Panik’s shot.
Edmonton tied it 2:49 into the second. Off a draw, Adam Larsson’s long wrister was knocked down by Draisaitl with his stick and redirected between Hill’s legs.
“Another good step in the right direction,” Draisaitl said. “We got our legs under us and started playing the way we can.”
Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet was pleased with his team’s effort, but said McDavid made the Coyotes pay for an error on his first goal.
“We talked about being above McDavid and we did a good job all game until that,” Tocchet said. “We just had a little mental breakdown and it’s in our net. We get a couple chances and we miss the net or we don’t score and he gets the one breakaway and he scores. That’s what high-end players do.”
NOTES: Arizona outshot the Oilers 16-7 in the first period. … Coyotes center Clayton Keller was selected an All-Star for the first time and will join McDavid, already chosen team captain, on the Pacific Division roster. … Coyotes D Alex Goligoski was scratched due to illness, the first game he’s missed since Nov. 17. C Nick Schmaltz was also scratched with a lower-body injury, his first missed game since being acquired from Chicago on Nov. 25. … Edmonton forward Alex Chiasson missed his third consecutive game due to injury, and forward Kailer Yamamoto missed his second straight with an upper-body injury.
UP NEXT
Edmonton plays at Los Angeles on Saturday.
Arizona hosts New Jersey on Friday.
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