It took a shootout, but they got the job done. Final score: 4-3 OT.

 

On the game: “I think both teams knew what’s at stake. It was a tight game, back and forth. We had two shifts where we fell asleep a little bit and let them get back into it. That’s something we need to clean up obviously. Other than that, it’s a pretty solid game I thought. We’re happy we got the extra point.”

On the Oilers play in the offensive zone, the reffing: “Uhm.. Yeah, I’m not going to comment on the refs. I thought we did a pretty good job of playing them below the circles. Obviously, they had a young d-core in there tonight and I thought we worked them pretty well. That’s one of our strengths on our team. We bring pucks to the net and we create scoring chances off of that. I thought we did a pretty good job of that.”

On it being a type of game to help them prepare for playoffs: “That’s a playoff-type of game, right? It’s good to see we can stick with it and come out on top at the end. That’s a great sign for us. Who knows, we might see this team sometime down the stretch.”

On home ice, the Oilers asserting their game there: “I think it’s something that needed to improve over the last couple of years. So far this season we’ve done that. We want to make this building a tough building for other teams to come in and a hard building to play in. I think we’ve done a good job of that lately.”

On playing a heavy style of hockey: “Yeah, of course. There’s different ways of being hard, right? You can be hard without the puck, you can forecheck hard, you can finish your checks. That’s one way of being hard. Another way of being hard is probably the best example is hyms right? He’s really hard on pucks, that’s hard to play against. He protects pucks. He takes them to dangerous areas and that’s another way of being hard. I think we got a lot of that in our group.”

On McDavid hitting 100-points: “Yeah I mean it’s obviously very impressive. Who knows, he might’ve gotten 100 in his rookie season too. The consistency is just amazing. Fun to be a part of, fun to watch. It’s hard to score in this league. He goes up against the best every night. You have to think, every team tries to stop him every team focuses on him the most. Yet, he goes out every season with 110, 120 points, I don’t even know. That’s hard to do, that’s really, really hard to do. It’s impressive.”

On if he’s paying any attention to what Auston Matthews is doing: “I’d be lying if I didn’t, it’s impressive what he’s doing. It’s the same thing — teams focus on him and he scores 50 every year… I mean, pretty much every year. It’s impressive, it’s fun to watch. We’ll see how it ends.”

On if he’d like to beat Matthews: “Of course I’d like to beat him, but he’s a pretty good player himself. I don’t think he’s going to stay at 49, to be honest with you.”

On the home ice games: “I think we feel pretty comfortable at home, we’ve been playing well at home. We just need to clean it up a little on the road and I think we’ll be a very hard team to play against.”

On McDavid hitting 100: “The rate that these guys are scoring at and the consistency they bring every single night putting up points is impressive, and that’s sort of what drew me here in the summer time is getting a chance to play with these guys and see how far we can go.”

On his teams performance: “We won the game and for us, that was the important thing. It was a ‘whatever it takes’ attitude and when you’re not feeling 100%, or whatnot, for us the counter thrust to that is doing whatever it takes to find the two points. I thought our team… It’s a full credit to the team in the locker room who found a way and did whatever it took to find the two points tonight. We’re pleased that we got the two points. We’ve got some stuff we have to work on, but very happy our players dug in and found a way to win.”

On if it’s comforting watching Connor and Leon in the shootout: “Yeah, they’re good shooters. I think we have good players. I felt very comfortable in that situation. Luckily, I’ve seen them perform in those situations and we have numerous players to pick from, but those are two pretty good ones to start off with.”

On the Oilers allowing back-to-back goals against: “I wasn’t pleased with it. I thought we brought pucks into our own end needlessly when instead we could’ve played simple and moved pucks forward. But those things happen. They’re a good team too. They did some good things, we did some good things. I was quite pleased with our persistence and stick-to-it-ness to find a way to get the two points.”

On allowing two goals quickly in three of their last five games: “We are seeing that as a coaching staff, we are talking about it with our group. It’s not something we are pleased with. I think our level of concentration and focus needs to be really dialled in. Especially the shift after a goal whether we’ve given one up, or whether we’ve scored a goal. I think that next shift is important. It’s incumbent upon the people that are stepping on the ice to make sure that we move pucks forward.

On being outshot heavily in the first half of the third, if he’s concerned about it: “It’s the National Hockey League. There are good teams that we’re going up against on a nightly basis. Teams are going to have moments and that team over there is competing for a playoff spot the exact same way we are. They did some good things, so you have to give the other team credit. But I’d also give our team credit. We might’ve bent, but we didn’t break. We didn’t have 60 minutes of perfect moments, or 65 minutes of perfect moments, but in the end, we did whatever it took to find the two points and that’s a credit to our players.”

On the Oilers winning their eighth game in a row at home: “I think it’s really important. I think we want to make sure this building where opponents know they’re going to be in for one when they come here to play the Oilers. That’s also a credit to our players, because they’re making it a difficult place to play. We haven’t been perfect in those eight games — there’s moments we’d like to have back, but like I said our team is doing whatever it takes at home here.”

On the messaging to players who aren’t in the lineup or playing much, if it’s an open competition: “That’s exactly what we’re doing. The players who perform, play. And we want to make sure there is a competition for ice time. Like I said earlier kind of after the trade deadline, we’re going to use our eyes and we’re going to make decisions based on the real-time information that our players give us.”

On Derick Brassard playing just 6:03, little after the first period: “You know, I just didn’t think that line — I actually flipped some people around there. I didn’t think that line was at it’s best, found a way to give up a couple goals. You also have to understand the game within the game. The other team went 11/7, so if you looked at the minutes and how both teams players down the lineup, especially up front there, they’re very similar. That’s the game within the game. Sometimes you end up playing more, sometimes you don’t. When you’re playing a team 11 and 7, sometimes that’s the way it works.”

On McDavid hitting his fifth 100-point season: “It’s incredible. He’s a phenomenal athlete that takes his craft very serious. He’s proud to have reached that mark, I’m sure. But as I said earlier, I think he’s driven to get his team to 100 points.”

On coaching against Todd McLellan: “He’s a competitive person, I’m a competitive person. We respect the fact both teams are fighting it out here for playoff position, and the two points are valuable. It’s not about jay and todd today, it was about the Edmonton Oilers finding a way to get two points. Did I find a moment to have a quick ‘hi’ to him? Yes I did. He’s a good friend of mine as well as someone that I respect and has been important in my coaching career. It was all business today and I’m happy our team came out with the two points.”