Oilers 3, Predators 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Ilya Bryzgalov's first NHL start of the season was an unqualified success.
Turning away 33 shots for his 31st career shutout Thursday night, Bryzgalov led the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-0 win over the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena.
Center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and left winger Taylor Hall scored for Edmonton (8-16-2) in the second period while the teams were playing 4-on-4 after Predators center Paul Gaustad and Oilers left winger David Perron were sent off for unsportsmanlike conduct.
It was just the second loss in seven games for the Predators (13-11-2), who were blanked for an NHL-high sixth time.
Bryzgalov, a 33-year-old goalie who signed with Edmonton on Nov. 8 and was recalled from AHL Oklahoma City, made his first appearance for the Oilers on Monday night in a 5-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. He entered that game in relief of starter Devan Dubnyk.
The Philadelphia Flyers bought out of the last seven seasons of Bryzgalov's nine-year, $51 million contract on June 25. Bryzgalov posted a 2.79 goals-against average last season for Philadelphia in 40 games, but he bore a good chunk of the blame for the Flyers missing the playoffs.
Bryzgalov looked sharp Thursday, although he didn't need to make a lot of tough saves. Nashville didn't generate a lot of traffic in front of him.
Predators goalie Marek Mazanec (5-4-0) stopped 25 shots, but he was beaten twice within 51 seconds in the middle period.
Nugent-Hopkins tapped in a pass by defenseman Jeff Petry at 5:32 for his sixth goal of the season.
Hall followed at 6:23 with his seventh goal, taking a feed from center Sam Gagner and slipping a backhand past Mazanec.
Oilers right winger Jordan Eberle tacked on an empty-net tally, his ninth goal of the season, with 57 remaining in the game.
NOTES: Nashville RW Patric Hornqvist and C Filip Forsberg were scratched again due to upper-body injuries. Hornqvist missed his third game in a row, while Forsberg was out for a seventh game in a row. ... Edmonton recalled D Denis Grebeshkov, 30, from AHL Oklahoma City on Wednesday. Grebeshkov, who played in three games for the Oilers last month, dressed and played Thursday on the second defense pairing with Anton Belov. ... The Predators played on Thanksgiving for the fourth time in franchise history, all at home. They won the first three in 2005, 2006 and 2007. ... Edmonton started its fifth set of back-to-back games Thursday night. The Oilers will play the Blue Jackets in Columbus on Friday evening. Edmonton entered the night 1-6-1 in back-to-back games.
