EDMONTON
Thomas
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their slump and put a dent in the Edmonton Oilers¡® playoff push.Kenny Agostino,
Damon Severson and Kevin Rooney each had a goal and an assist as the Devils beat
the Oilers 6-3 Wednesday night to snap a season-high seven-game losing
streak.New Jersey, coming off a 9-4 loss at Calgary the previous night when it
gave up six goals in the third period, took control with three goals in the
second period against Edmonton.¡°We knew that last night¡¯s third period was
unacceptable and when you have good leadership and good character, that¡¯s a big
part of that response,¡± Devils coach John Hynessaid. ¡°We had a pretty stern
meeting this morning and the guys were pretty receptive to what we needed to do
better and tonight was better execution of what we needed to do to have
success.¡±Travis
Zajac
John
Tavares Jersey , John Quenneville and Blake Coleman also scored for the
Devils, and Cory Schneider stopped 36 shots.¡°I think it¡¯s been well documented
how we¡¯ve struggled on the road this and in back-to-backs, so to get a win ¡ it
was good for us,¡± Schneider said. ¡°We felt pretty bad about the game last night.
Every one of us knew that third period was unacceptable.¡±Sam Gagner, Alex
Chiasson and Matt Benning had goals for the Oilers, who have lost two of their
last three games. Mikko Koskinen gave up four goals on 18 shots before he was
replaced midway through the third. Anthony Stolarz came on and finished with 15
saves on 17 shots.Edmonton is now six points back of the Western Conference¡¯s
second wild card. currently held by Arizona. Minnesota (74
points)
Authentic
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Coyotes (75) and the Oilers (69).¡°We took them lightly, took the game for
granted. I don¡¯t think we came to work,¡± said Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who
had two assists to reach 100 points for the third straight season. ¡°Obviously it
is disappointing that we missed a huge opportunity tonight. It¡¯s
frustrating.¡±Zajac showed some deft hands in front as he tied the score 2-2 with
19 seconds left in the first period.The Devils then scored the first three goals
of the second to take control of the game.Severson scored on a power play to
give New Jersey the lead for good at 6:23, and Quenneville made it a two-goal
advantage on a screened shot with 7:11 remaining in the period. That chased
Koskinen.Rooney beat Stolarz with a wrist shot to make it 5-2 with 3:28
remaining in the middle period.Benning got the Oilers back within two with 41
seconds to go in the second. Connor McDavid got his 100th point of the season
with an assist on the play.Coleman¡¯s short-handed goal with 7:54 remaining in
the third made it 6-3.¡°We didn¡¯t respect the opponent enough. I don¡¯t
think
Josh
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burned because of it,¡± Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock said.New Jersey got the
scoring started 7:34 into the game when Agostino¡¯s rebound bounced up in the air
before landing behind Koskinen and trickling into the net.Gagner tipped
Benning¡¯s shot past Schneider 2:03 later to tie the score.The Oilers went ahead
on the power play with 5:38 left in the first when Chiasson redirected a
McDavid¡¯sfeed into the net on the doorstep for his career-high 20th of the
season. McDavid extended his point streak to 10 games with that assist.NOTES:
The Devils won the team¡¯s first meeting to start the season as part of the NHL
Global Series in Sweden.UP NEXTDevils: At Vancouver on Friday night for the
fifth of a six-game trip.Oilers At Arizona on Friday night to open a three-game
trip. Minas Panagiotakis/Getty ImagesThe Los Angeles Kingsfired head coach John
Stevens and assistant coachDon Nachbaur on Sunday.Stevens, who was hired in
April 2017, led the Kings to a 45-29-8 finish last season before they were
bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Vegas Golden Knights.That
campaign offered reasons for optimism, but the Kings opened the 2018-19 season
4-8-1 with just nine points over their first 13 games.At the time of Stevens'
ouster, the Kings were tied with the Florida Panthers for the league's lowest
point total.WillieDesjardinshas been installed as the Kings' interim head
coach."This is a critical time in our season and our results to date have fallen
well below our expectations. With that in
mind
Brady
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necessary," general manager Rob Blake said in astatement."We have a great deal
of respect and appreciation for John's time with our organization. He was a key
part of our past success, and we have tremendous gratitude for his many
contributions."Stevens also spent a four-game stint as the Kings' interim head
coach following Terry Murray's dismissal in 2011. Los Angeles proceeded to hoist
the Stanley Cup in 2012 afterDarrylSutterwas appointed to the post on a
full-time basis.Prior to his time on the bench, Stevens enjoyed a five-year NHL
career, including three seasons with the Hartford Whalers as a defenseman. He
did not score a goal in 53 career games.With Stevens out of the picture, the
Kings will hope to find more stable footing underDesjardins.The 61-year-old
previously coached theVancouverCanucks from 2014 to 2017. The team went 109-110
under his watch and 2-4 in the postseason.