Oilers concede first goal again in loss to Blackhawks

EDMONTON — The Chicago Blackhawks were great out of the gate against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.

Alex DeBrincat had a goal and two assists as the Blackhawks came out flying with goals on their first two shots en route to a 4-1 victory over the Oilers.

Brandon Hagel, Dylan Strome and Kirby Dach also scored for the Blackhawks (17-23-7) who snapped a three-game losing streak.

“We came ready to play,” DeBrincat said. “We played simple right off the bat, got it in deep and went to work. We drew a penalty early and scored on that and the momentum went from there.”

Hawks goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was called upon to make 40 saves in the win, and was especially tested in the second period when he faced 20 shots.

“It was huge,” said Chicago interim head coach Derek King. “That’s what he does. He keeps us in games. We played a really good first period and he made some really good saves when we needed him. In the second period we needed him to be sharp and he was, he was outstanding.”

Leon Draisaitl scored in response for the Oilers (23-18-3) who have lost two in a row and have just three wins in their last 11 outings at home.

“I think we’ve been out of sync all over,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid. “Passes aren’t clean, we haven’t battled hard enough around their net. Offensively we’ve been poor these two games.

“We lost the special team battle again tonight and that’s a big part of our game. When we don’t find a way to win the special teams battle, it seems like we’re chasing the game.”

As has become a broken record, the Oilers allowed the game’s first goal — this one coming on Chicago’s first shot, as DeBrincat blasted a power play one-timer past Edmonton goalie Mike Smith just under two minutes into the opening period