Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist, and Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin scored for the Oilers (6-5-4), who were coming off a 3-2 loss at the St. Louis Blues on Monday and are 2-2-3 in their past seven. Skinner made 24 saves, and Jack Roslovic had two assists.
“Decision-making and reading the situation were the issues tonight,” Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. “We needed to push them back. They started to get comfortable with the puck and we let them take the win. There’s been too many of these games that happen to us, so we need to figure out how to close a game better.”
The Oilers took a 1-0 lead at 3:40 of the first period. Roslovic sent a one-handed pass across the crease to Podkolzin, who beat DeSmith with a quick shot from in tight.
Draisaitl made it 2-0 at 7:07 when he scored with a sharp-angled shot from along the goal line to the right of the net on the power play.
Rantanen cut the lead to 2-1 at 9:10 of the second period, batting in a rebound after Johnston hit the post on the power play. The goal was Rantanen’s 300th in the NHL.
“Bounces and breaks aside, we got to work to get more chances and not let them have it. We were in a good spot in the game, but we let them build off chances and win,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “We know we’re capable of closing games out, we just need to show it.”
