Connor McDavid scored three goals to extend his point streak to 16 games as the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Nashville Predators 6-2 on January 6, 2026, at Rogers Place. The victory snapped a two-game losing skid for Edmonton, while Nashville ended a seven-game road trip with a 4-3-0 record. McDavid's performance marked his second hat trick of the season and 14th of his career.
The Oilers jumped out to an early lead when McDavid opened the scoring on a power-play goal at 8:53 of the first period, maneuvering around Ryan O'Reilly and deking past Juuse Saros to make it 1-0. In the second period, McDavid extended the advantage to 2-0 with a penalty-shot goal at 15:53, lifting the puck over Saros' blocker for his 27th goal of the season. Curtis Lazar followed 22 seconds later with a backhand rebound to push the score to 3-0, and Kasperi Kapanen added a fourth at 18:52, his first goal since October 19 after missing 36 games with a lower-body injury.
Nashville mounted a brief comeback in the third period, with O'Reilly sliding home a rebound at 3:48 to cut the deficit to 4-1, followed 15 seconds later by Nick Blankenburg's one-timer for 4-2. However, Leon Draisaitl restored the three-goal lead at 13:46 with a snap shot, and McDavid completed his hat trick at 19:03, tapping in a pass from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who earned his 500th NHL assist.
"It was a good start for us and we kind of rode it all the way through," McDavid said. Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch noted the team's improved effort, while Predators coach Andrew Brunette lamented three quick goals that proved costly. Connor Ingram made 24 saves for Edmonton (21-16-6), and Saros stopped 37 shots for Nashville (19-19-4). Forward Adam Henrique left early after blocking a shot and is expected to miss time.
