It all started with an early offensive surge. Leon Draisaitl was moved to the centre position between Milan Lucic and Anton Slepyshev on the second line, and it paid off. He scored less than three minutes into the opening frame on a breakaway to give Edmonton the 1-0 lead. Minutes later, he added another tally on a turn-around backhand rebound to make it 2-0.
The outburst continued with a breakaway goal by Zack Kassian, which would end John Gibson’s night between the pipes. Edmonton soon after added two more goals from Mark Letestu to make it 5-0. Draisaitl had three points to end the first period.