EDMONTON — Evan Bouchard scored his first NHL goal and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and an assist as the Edmonton Oilers earned a 4-1 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals on Thursday.
Alex Chiasson and Connor McDavid also scored for the Oilers (4-3-1), who snapped a two-game losing skid. Cam Talbot made 31 saves in the victory.
Andre Burakovsky replied for the Capitals (4-3-2), who have lost two of their last three.
Edmonton got on the board first with a power-play goal with 3:32 left in the opening period when Bouchard scored on a shot from the point with Capitals goalie Braden Holtby screened on the play.
The rookie became the youngest defenceman in Oilers history to score a goal after turning 19 on Oct. 20.
The Oilers added to their lead midway through the second on a short-handed tally when Nugent-Hopkins picked off a pass, undressed Niklas Backstrom and beat Holtby for his third of the season.
Washington got that goal back a couple of minutes later as Nic Dowd found Burakovsky alone at the side of the net and he put his first of the season past Talbot.
Edmonton made it 3-1 midway through the third when Chiasson picked the top corner on a long-range bomb, his third goal in the last two games.
McDavid added an empty-netter to put the game away.
Notes: Both teams return to action on Saturday as the Capitals head to Calgary to face the Flames and the Oilers are in Nashville… It was the first of two meetings between the two teams this season. Their second game against each other will be Nov. 5 in Washington… Oilers forward Chiasson, who had two goals in just his second appearance for Edmonton on Tuesday, received his Stanley Cup ring from the Caps during the afternoon, after playing for Washington last season.
Shane Jones, The Canadian Press
