EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) Jesse Puljujarvi had a goal and two assists, Patrick Maroon scored twice and the Edmonton Oilers had a strong showing in their return from a weeklong break, defeating the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 on Saturday night.
Jujhar Khaira and Leon Draisaitl also scored for the Oilers, who have won three in a row.
Daniel Sedin and Brandon Sutter had the goals for the Canucks, who won their previous two games.
Edmonton scored on the first shot of the game 1:25 in when Maroon made a steal in the Vancouver zone and dished off to Connor McDavid, who promptly sent the puck back to Maroon for an easy tap-in past Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom for his 12th of the season.
Vancouver had a good chance midway through the opening period, but Brock Boeser was stopped on a 2-on-0 breakaway by Oilers goalie Cam Talbot.
Edmonton made it 2-0 with two minutes left in the first, as Puljujarvi picked off a pass and sent it in front to Khaira, who scored on a backhand.
The Canucks got on the board with a power-play goal early in the second as a long shot appeared to be deflected at least twice before getting past Talbot. The goal was awarded to Sedin.
Vancouver tied the game midway through the middle period on a 2-on-1 break, with Sutter scoring his fourth of the season.
Edmonton regained the lead with 1:06 to play in the second when Puljujarvi banged in a rebound from in tight.
The Oilers made it 4-2 five minutes into the third on an odd-man rush as Puljujarvi set up Draisaitl for a one-timer to score his 12th.
Maroon added an empty-netter to seal it for Edmonton.
NOTES: It was the second of four meetings between the teams this season, the first coming back on Oct. 7 when the Oilers lost 3-2 in Vancouver. … Both teams were coming back from their bye week. … The Oilers were without forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, expected to be sidelined five to six weeks with cracked ribs. As a result, Iiro Pakarinen played his first game with Edmonton since Nov. 28 after being recalled from the AHL. … The Canucks were without Bo Horvat (ankle) and Erik Gudbranson (back spasms).
UP NEXT
Canucks: Sunday night at Winnipeg.
Oilers: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.
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