EDMONTON – Matthew Savoie scored the winning goal as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 for a season-high fifth straight win on Thursday.
Edmonton tied Anaheim for top spot in the Pacific Division with 87 points, looking to win its first division title since 1987 — the longest drought in NHL history.
Adam Henrique and Vasily Podkolzin also scored for the Oilers (39-28-9), who have won seven of their last nine games. Edmonton now has a 29-5-5 record when scoring first.
The Oilers are in strong form without star forward Leon Draisaitl, who is out for the remainder of the regular season with a lower-body injury.
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Nick Lardis answered for the Blackhawks (27-35-14), who were eliminated from playoff contention for the sixth straight season with their fifth straight loss.
Tristan Jarry recorded 17 saves to earn the win for Edmonton, while Spencer Knight made 31 stops for Chicago. Arvid Soderblom made four saves and allowed a goal while Knight dealt with equipment issues.
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Conclusion
Blackhawks: Forward Anton Frondell wasn’t on the scoresheet for the second time in his short career. The third overall draft pick in 2025 recently joined the Hawks of the Swedish Hockey League and has five points in his first six games.
Oilers: Rookie forward Savoie has continued to impress since joining Connor McDavid on the top line and first power play, while serving on the penalty kill. He has now scored four goals in his last five games and 14 points in his last 18 games.
Important moment
The Oilers finally scored 5:32 into the second period when Jack Roslovic threw Henrique on a clear break. Henrique’s initial shot was stopped but he sent the rebound into the net with a backhand shot to score his third goal of the season and his first in 50 games, which came on 23 October.
Key statistics
McDavid saw his scoring streak end at five games, but picked up an assist to extend his points streak to six games, for a total of 11 over that span. McDavid is two points ahead of Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov for the NHL scoring lead.
Furthermore
Blackhawks: Visit the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2026.
© 2026 Canadian Press
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