3 most impressive Edmonton Oilers players from 3-2 win over Buffalo Sabres feat. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

The Edmonton Oilers entered Saturday's game against the Buffalo Sabres knowing it would be the final game without captain Connor McDavid, who was slapped with a multi-game suspension for his cross-check to Vancouver Canucks forward Conor Garland's face one week ago.

And while they lost their first game without McDavid to the Washington Capitals, they rebounded with a 5-2 win over the Canucks in the rematch last Saturday.

The Sabres entered Saturday's game with a 1-3 record in their last four and desperately needed a win. Unfortunately for them, it didn't happen. The Oilers improved to 31-15-3 on the season with their 3-2 victory; the Sabres fell to 18-26-5.

The scoring started late in the first period as Sabres forward Alex Tuch notched the first goal of the game and his 16th goal of the season. But it wouldn't be long before the Oilers responded, knotting the score at 1-1 thanks to Jeff Skinner's eighth goal of the season.

Both teams were tied 1-1 at the end of the opening 20 minutes of play.

Buffalo grabbed the lead once again in the second period after Jiri Kulich scored his ninth goal. But a little after the midway point of the game's middle frame, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the first of two goals on the night, tying the score.

Nugent-Hopkins struck again in the third period, notching his 15th goal. The goal would stand up as the game-winning goal, as the Sabres would fail to capture the tying marker.

Stuart Skinner was impressive for the Oilers, making 39 saves; meanwhile, James Reimer made 31 saves on 34 shots.

3 most impressive Edmonton Oilers players from 3-2 win over Buffalo Sabres

#1. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

The longest-tenured member of the Oilers came through in a big way for his club on Saturday afternoon, registering his first two-goal game of the season and also notching the game-winner in the third period.

After a subpar outing in their most recent loss to Washington in which he generated zero points, his performance against the Sabres was much more indicative of what the Oilers need from him.

#2. Stuart Skinner

The biggest question mark for the Oilers continues to be their goaltending, but the good news is that Stuart Skinner was fantastic for Edmonton on Saturday against the Sabres.

He made several key saves, many of them of the high-percentage chance variety. He stopped six of seven attempts from Jiri Kulich, five attempts from Tage Thompson and four from Dylan Cozens.

#3. Darnell Nurse

The veteran Oilers defenseman was steady in his performance on Saturday, exactly the kind of performance that they need from him after several inconsistent outings this season.

He finished with a +1 rating and also assisted on Nugent-Hopkins' game-winning goal.