Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ended the competitive portion of the game 16 seconds into the third period when the defenseman fumbled Kris Letang beat Blomqvist with a nasty backhanded wrist shot to give Edmonton a 3-0 lead.

Even when the Penguins pressed, like later in the second period when the trio of Lars Eller with Cody Glass and Jesse Puljujarvi created a few chances, the Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner made some tough saves.

But he didn’t have to do much. The Penguins eventually increased their shot total to 27.

Edmonton peppered Blomqvist with shots throughout the game. Only Blomqvist’s sometimes spectacular performance saved the Penguins from being completely embarrassed.

It took Edmonton 34 shots to finally score. Draisaitl’s end-to-end run took Blomqvist slightly away from his corner, and Draisaitl (4) fired a perfect wrist shot from the right circle of the far post at 13:00 of the second period.

The Penguins contested Edmonton’s next goal, and in years past, they would have succeeded. However, recent changes allow the forward’s skate to remain off the ice as long as it is above the blue line. That was the decision after much consideration, and Evan Bouchard’s 35-foot wrist shot through traffic proved to be a good goal at 17:35 of the second.

Four Oilers had four or more shots on goal late in the second period as Edmonton outshot the Penguins 39-17. McDavid, Vadily Podkolzin, Mattias Ekholm and Zach Hyman led the shooting.

Ekholm (1) had four shots in the first two periods and scored in his fifth – a power play goal at 7:00 for a 4-0 lead. Edmonton’s power play has only converted twice this season, a rate of 10%. The goal was Edmonton’s 43rd shot of the game.

There were few Penguins highlights of note. Although it struggled to overcome the hangover from the Stanley Cup Final, Edmonton quickly responded to rare offensive opportunities and otherwise outscored the Penguins.

At the end of the match, the Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson tangled with Viktor Arvidsson as the two men chased an icing. Edmonton felt Pettersson board Arvidsson, and Pettersson fought off defenseman Darnell Nurse at 5:23 of the third. Nurse connected with a few right hands to Pettersson’s jaw.

After the game, Edmonton greats Randy Gregg and Craig MacTavish were inducted into the Oilers Hall of Fame. The team led the ceremonies following the game instead of delaying the start.

Penguins winger Cody Glass did not finish the second period. PHN will update the story after media availability.

The Penguins face the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday at Rogers Arena.