Oilers HC Kris Knoblauch seemingly takes a sly dig at Penguins after Pittsburgh beats Edmonton for the first time since December 2019

The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-3 on Thursday, marking the first time they beat Edmonton since Dec. 20, 2019.

Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch took a subtle jab at the Penguins when asked about the losing streak.

"I'm sure the previous game they knew about (it). I don't think the tipping point was tonight, going into the game that - they were ready to play, and they're fired up," Knoblauch said.

"It happens throughout the year that you have a good game. Next one's not and, I think for 40 minutes, we had a heck of a game.First 20 minutes, we were not ready for it, and they outplayed us."

The Penguins got goals from Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust and Kevin Hayes to take a 3-0 lead in the first period. The Oilers cut the deficit to 3-1 through Leon Draisaitl's backhand shot goal. But Evan Rodrigues scored a wrist shot from the circle to make it 4-1.

In the second period, Sidney Crosby scored on power play goal from Michael Bunting's pass. Draisaitl scored his second of the game before Ryan Nugent-Hopkins added goals to make it 5-3.

"So tonight last 40 minutes we really good effort. I think we had our chances to get back in it and, obviously, without some goalpost maybe tied up at some point, but it was just too big a hole to overcome," Knoblauch addded.

Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner stopped 21 shots, while Penguins netminder Alex Nedeljkovic made 40 saves to secure the win.

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Penguins HC Mike Sullivan reflects on win against Oilers

The Pittsburgh Penguins ended their four-game losing streak with a decisive victory over Edmonton. After the win, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan praised his team's effort:

“I thought our guys competed hard. We tried to defend with numbers as best we could. Our guys competed hard against them."

Sullivan pointed to the team's excellent start as a key factor:

"The first period might have been one of the better periods we've had all year.... But we knew that it was gonna be a game because those guys are, they're one of the top offensive teams in the league and have (the) ability to score goals."

The Penguins next face the Ottawa Senators, while Edmonton takes on the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.