Predators beat Oilers 4-1

EDMONTON, Alberta - The way Craig Smith saw it, he had a three-goal game.

Officially, he ended with a pair of goals in the Predators' 4-1 win over the Oilers Wednesday night at Rexall Place.

His apparent goal early in the first period was disallowed before he eventually scored his first in the second period and capped scoring with 7:36 left in the game.

"I thought it was a goal - you always think it's a goal," Smith said. "It creates havoc for them and stress on the other side of the bench. We felt good. We had a good chance right away and that's what you've got to build on."

Taylor Beck and Shea Weber also scored for the Predators, and Pekka Rinne finished with 26 saves.

The victory halted Edmonton's (4-5-1) winning streak at four games and kept the Oilers winless against Western Conference competition.

The Central-Division leading Predators (6-1-2) play the second of their six-game road trip Friday night at Calgary.

"I liked the way our guys competed tonight," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "I thought we played good defense, had good goaltending and were opportunistic going the other way. It's a good start to our road trip. It's just one, but it's better to start that way."

The game opened with controversy for the Predators when Smith's apparent goal on Ben Scrivens was disallowed 1:35 in on a call that held up under video review from Toronto.

"It was a tough bounce," Smith said.

The review confirmed the referee was in the process of blowing the whistle before the puck crossed the goal line.

Laviolette said received the same explanation on the bench, noting the whistle was blown based on the save from Smith's initial shot before he and Derek Roy closed in on the play.

"It's not like it was a loose puck," Laviolette said.

The Oilers had a goal disallowed, too, when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins beat Rinne 19 seconds into the second period only to see the puck deflect off the crossbar.

It was signaled a goal on the ice before it was disallowed under video review from Toronto.

Smith scored the game's first goal, cleaning up a rebound from Roman Josi's shot to beat Scrivens with 13:37 left in the second period.

Beck followed 86 seconds later when he buried a cross-ice pass from Colin Wilson to make it 2-0 for his first goal with the Predators since April 12, 2013.

Weber's slap shot from the blue line off a turnover picked the corner of the net above Scrivens' blocker 24 seconds into the third period to put the Predators up 3-0.

"Obviously didn't get the call early on, but stuck with it," Weber said. "Second period probably wasn't our best, but we got a couple goals there and get one early in the third and put them out of it."

Taylor Hall broke Rinne's shutout bid when scored on a long rebound from a Nugent-Hopkins shot with 11:06 left in the third period.

Predators forward Matt Cullen made his season debut after being activated off injured reserve Tuesday and assisted on Smith's second goal of the night with 7:36 left to play.

Laviolette praised the aggressive offensive play of the Cullen-Roy-Smith line.

"They came right from the start – their first three shifts were outstanding," Laviolette said. "I liked the way they tried to push things, and right from the opening faceoff by just getting pucks to the net and looking for opportunities in there. They did a good job of stepping on the gas."

Reach Eric Stromgren at 615-259-8325 and on Twitter @estromgren.