NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Taylor Hall scored 51 seconds apart in the second period, and Ilya Bryzgalov got a shutout in his first start for Edmonton as the Oilers beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 Thursday night.
Bryzgalov, signed by the Oilers on Nov. 8, made 33 saves in his first NHL start since April 25 when he was in net for Philadelphia. Jordan Eberle added an empty-netter in the final minute off an assist from Hall, and the Oilers have won four of five.
Predators captain Shea Weber was hit by a puck near his right eye at 15:24 of the second, dropped to the ice and immediately skated to the locker room. He did not return with what team officials called an upper-body injury.
Nashville, which had won two straight, lost for the second time in seven games.
The Predators hosted one of the NHL's two games and were the only American team in action Thursday, wanting to start a holiday tradition in Nashville pairing hockey with turkey. It was just their 11th home game this season, fewer than all but Dallas and the Rangers.
Nashville outshot Edmonton 13-9 in a sluggish first period with the Predators playing the second game of a back-to-back after winning 4-0 in Columbus on Wednesday night. This is the Oilers' only visit to Nashville this season and the start of a three-game road trip.
The Oilers opened the second by taking the first five shots, and Predators forward Paul Gaustad and Oilers left wing David Perron each went to the penalty box for unsportsmanlike conduct at 5:07. Nugent-Hopkins tipped in a shot by Jeff Petry 25 seconds later during the 4-on-4, and Hall scored on a backhander from Sam Gagner at 6:23 for a 2-0 lead.
Bryzgalov, who signed a one-year deal with the Oilers for $1.7 million, debuted Monday in Edmonton, replacing Devan Dubnyk in a 5-1 loss to Chicago. Bryzgalov stopped four shots from Weber in the first period, but Weber had only one shot in the second before the puck hit him in the face.
The goalie had a nice pad save on Predators forward Mike Fisher in the final minutes to finish off his 31st career shutout and second against the Predators.
NOTES: The Oilers are 4-5-2 when scoring first. Nashville dropped to 2-10-0 when the opponent scores first. ... Bryzgalov improved to 10-6-3 against the Predators. ... The Oilers are 5-1-0 when leading after two periods, and Nashville is 0-11-0 when trailing after two. ... Nugent-Hopkins has seven points in the last four games. ... It was Nashville's fourth game on Thanksgiving and first since 2007. The Predators won the first three on their own ice. ... Nashville is 2-2-0 in the second of back-to-back games this season.
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