NHL roundup: McLeod nets first career hat-trick, McDavid scores twice in Oilers victory

On Wednesday night, the NHL featured a limited schedule with only two games. Ryan McLeod achieved his first career hat trick, propelling the Sabres to a victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, while Connor McDavid contributed two goals to lead the Oilers past the Minnesota Wild.

McLeod was instrumental in establishing a 3-0 lead for the Sabres by scoring two of their initial three goals. The Hurricanes managed to narrow the deficit with two consecutive goals, but McLeod (10) sealed the game with an empty-net goal, culminating in a 4-2 triumph for Buffalo.

Dylan Cozens (10) added another goal for the Sabres, while Jaccob Slavin (3) and Martin Necas (16) found the net for Carolina. The Sabres (17-22-5) have now secured victories in three of their last four matches, whereas the Hurricanes (26-16-3) have suffered losses in three of their last five encounters.

The two teams are scheduled to face each other again on February 27th for the second of their three meetings.

In the matchup between the Oilers and the Wild, Minnesota initially took the lead with power-play goals from Matt Boldy (17) and Marco Rossi (17) in the first period. However, the Oilers quickly countered with goals from Zach Hyman (15) and Connor McDavid (17).

Ryan Hartman (7) extended the Wild's lead to 3-2 in the second period, but the Oilers responded vigorously, scoring three consecutive goals from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (12), Vasily Podkolzin (6), and Connor McDavid (18).

With this victory, Edmonton (28-13-3) has now won seven of their last eight games and is just two points shy of the Vegas Golden Knights for the top position in the Pacific Division. Conversely, the Wild (27-14-4) have now lost their second consecutive game and three out of their last four.