I love it when the Edmonton Oilers have a good Hockey Night in Canada matchup on deck, and the storylines surrounding Saturday’s visit from the St. Louis Blues set the table for a fine night at Rogers Place. Even though it wasn’t necessarily the prettiest game you’ll ever see, the good news is that the Oilers still found a way to grind out a 4–2 win.

How good was Stuart Skinner last night? Despite the Oilers being outshot 31–21 and facing plenty of late pressure, Skinner was a key reason Edmonton could close out this win. Had it not been for his 29 saves and .938 save percentage, there’s no way we’d be talking about two points on the board instead of a disappointing loss.

Saturday’s game was one of those nights where the skaters looked like they didn’t have their A-game, but the goalie was dialled in. Over his last six starts, Skinner has posted save percentages of .931 or better five times, looking like the guy who caught fire during last season’s 16-game winning streak. That’s a lovely stretch of hockey after what I’m sure even he would say was a tough start to the year.

Even though I don’t expect this .930-plus run to continue forever, I hope he’s starting to lock in some consistency at the higher end of his game. Not every night can the boys score six goals; sometimes the goalie has to steal one, and I would say that’s exactly what happened last night with Stuart Skinner. I thought Skinner was fantastic, and I always want to give him the credit when he deserves it, especially after being tough on him a month ago.

When I wrote the GDB on Saturday, I wondered how spicy the crowd would be whenever Dylan Holloway or Philip Broberg was on the ice. As expected, the crowd welcomed the pair with a chorus of boos every time they touched the puck, prompting a healthy chuckle from me. No one can ever argue that the Oilers’ fanbase isn’t knowledgeable, and it’s times like these when being as dialled in as we are can lead to enjoyable nights at the ol’ barn.

While the boos continued throughout the night, both players had notable moments that contributed to the outcome. For Philip Broberg, it was an unfortunate giveaway that wound up on Connor McDavid’s stick, leading to an easy goal for the best player on earth. Dylan Holloway, meanwhile, scored his career-high ninth goal of the season on a snipe from the slot, which made me annoyed all over again that Ken Holland didn’t get him locked up before the season was over.

At the end of the day, I’m happy the night is now behind us and that we can move on from this first visit back to Edmonton. It was one of those games that carried a lot of anticipation, whether it was worthy or not. Still, I can’t help but wonder if this whole mess should have been avoided. Knowing they need young players to contribute, why wouldn’t they work on something early to get the cost certainty?

I don’t begrudge two young players for signing bigger contracts elsewhere that came with more opportunity. Instead, I blame a management team that failed to prioritize getting new deals done. With the offer-sheet noise now in the past — and with this first meeting (and win) against the Blues in the books — it will be interesting to see how the story evolves over time.

I don’t think any of us necessarily expected Zach Hyman to repeat the 54-goal campaign he had during the 2023–24 season, but the cold streak he started this year with was wild to watch. Our man had all kinds of chances to score that would have been automatic a year ago, but for whatever reason, they just weren’t going in for him. In the two games since he returned from injury, Hyman has three goals, and it looks like he’s starting to get some of that mojo back, and I couldn’t think of a bigger blessing than having our best crease-front presence thriving in garbage land again.

1. Corey Perry opened the scoring (1-0) with a pretty deflection right in front of the net after Darnell Nurse hit him with a beautiful pass behind the St. Louis defenders. The goal was Perry’s fifth of the season as he continues his strong start to his 20th year in the NHL.

2. Connor McDavid extended the lead (2-0) on a quick shot from the slot after a clearing attempt by Philip Broberg bounced out in front of the net right onto the captain’s stick. Unsurprisingly, the crowd had a pretty good time with that one. As for McDavid, the insurance goal marked his fourth in his last six games.

3. Zach Hyman put the Oilers up by a field goal (3-0) with a power play tap-in from the side of the net after Connor McDavid threaded a pass through a few bodies and right onto ZMH’s awaiting stick. That was Hyman’s third goal since coming back on Thursday against Columbus, and it would be a universal blessing if he can keep heating up as the season rolls along.

4. Were you surprised when Dylan Holloway scored (3-1) to narrow the gap? You weren’t were you? Me neither, and that’s why I bet on it. Either way, it was a bummer to see Holloway score because I really love him as a player, but I blame Ken Holland for that.

5. Jordan Kyrou cut the lead in half (3-2) with a power play snipe that came at the tail end of an extended 5-0n-3 opportunity late in the third period. Kyrou’s goal was the Blues’ second in under eight minutes, opening the door for a very stressful finish.

6. Only 52 seconds after Kyrou’s PP marker, Troy Stecher scored an ugly one (4-2) from near the boards that restored the Oilers’ two-goal lead and really relieved the pressure they were probably feeling after coughing up two straight. Not only was it Stecher’s first goal as an Oiler but also his first goal in 65 games, or as we learned thanks to Scott Oake on HNIC, his first in 13 months.

7. I want to give Darnell Nurse some love for the way he’s played since coming back from that big hit by Ryan Reaves. I know his contract is always going to come into question, but I still want to give him his flowers for the way he’s stepped up over the last five games. In 22:17 of TOI, Nurse had an assist to go along with one shot on goal, two blocks, four hits, and a +4 rating.

8. How about another casual two-point night from Leon Draisaitl? Is the rest of the league taking notice of how dominant he’s been so far this year, or is everyone sleeping on him because he’s on the same team as McDavid again?

9. There’s no way you weren’t expecting me to tell you that the Oilers won 56.9% of the faceoffs, did you? Say what you will about my articles, but you can never say that I’m not consistent.

10. The Oilers’ power play scored again after putting up two goals with the man advantage against Columbus. Pray for NHL goaltenders if the Edmonton Oilers can catch fire on the power play again.