Pearson's 4 points carry Canucks past host Oilers

Tanner Pearson scored twice in a four-point game while Loui Eriksson scored his first goal of the season as the Vancouver Canucks collected a 5-2 road victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night. Goaltender Jacob Markstrom made 28 saves, while Bo Horvat netted three assists for the Canucks, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

The clubs meet again Sunday night in the second half of a home-and-home series. With the score tied 2-2, Pearson collected his second goal of the game at 13:47 of the second period for the game-winner. Pearson was part of a rush up the ice and pushed home a rebound.

Then Eriksson made it a 4-2 game with his first goal of the season. Eriksson, the oft-maligned veteran, drove to the net and redirected a pass from Pearson to net his first goal since March 20 -- a 22-game drought. Josh Leivo rounded out the scoring with a tally 81 seconds into the third period.

The Canucks, playing the finale of a six-game road trip, had plenty of early jump and were rewarded with a 2-0 edge thanks to a pair of special-teams goals. Tyler Graovac opened the scoring with a power-play goal, the team's league-leading 28th man-advantage marker, 3:31 into the first period, a short-side shot from the left faceoff dot. The shot came back out of the net so fast it wasn't noticed by anyone on the ice.

Pearson's short-handed goal at the 13:32 mark of the first doubled the lead. But the Oilers drew even. Connor McDavid scored 42 seconds later with his 19th goal of the season, wiring a shot just inside the post, and then set up Zack Kassian's tally 5:05 into the second period. McDavid has collected 13 goals and 26 points in the last 13 games.

The victory came at a cost for Vancouver, as defenseman Alex Edler suffered an upper-body injury in the second period. Mike Smith stopped 33 shots for the Oilers, who still lead the Pacific Division.