THE BRIGHT SIDE

• Connor McDavid opened the scoring (1-0) early in the first period after he was able to bank a shot from below the goal line into the net off Forsberg’s back. Great awareness by the captain. Then again, McDavid was fantastic all morning and it was one of those games where it was a real pleasure to watch the best player on earth do his thing to the tune of another three-point performance.
• Just over a minute after Ottawa tied the score, Zach Hyman restored the lead (2-1) on a penalty shot with a beautifully executed deke to his backhand. Huge props to my dude that hauled King Hyman down to give him the chance.
• Ryan McLeod gave the Oilers a two-goal lead (3-1) with a tap-in on the doorstep after Connor McDavid set him up with one of the prettiest assists that I’ve ever seen in my life. Connor dangled everyone in the arena before finding McLeod at the back door for his career-high 10th goal, and it was a play that we’ll be seeing the reply of that one for the rest of time.
• Jesse Puljujarvi gave the Oilers back the lead (4-3) early in the third period on a beautiful play that saw him take a hard pass from Kulak in full stride and bury his shot all in one fluid motion. For a guy that hadn’t played in a while, that was a hell of a goal for Puljujarvi.
• Derek Ryan extended the lead to two goals for a second time (5-3) with a second shorthanded goal after he took a swipe at Kulak’s centering pass and directed the puck perfectly through Forsberg’s legs. As always, one can only hope to contain Derek Ryan. He is unstoppable.
• Ryan Nugent-Hopkins put the Oilers up by three (6-3) with a power play goal from the slot that came off a scramble near the goal mouth because sneaking his shot through a pile of bodies, including Forsberg who suffered an awful-looking injury on the play.
• I love secondary scoring so very much. Getting goals from throughout the lineup could genuinely be the most powerful aphrodisiac on earth.
• Jack Campbell was back between the pipes and looking for his ninth consecutive win in games that he’s started, and I was absolutely cheering for the guy to keep this feel-good comeback story going. After a casual first period, the Senators really cranked up the heat and he was forced to make a bunch of quality saves. That’s not to say that this was a perfect outing for Campbell, the goal to Brannstrom is one he’d probably want back, but the important part of this story is that he gave the Oilers the foundation that they needed to grind out a win. He wasn’t as busy as his counterpart, but Campbell made the saves he needed to lock in an important win. Campbell finished the game with 26 saves and a .897 save%.
• After being unable to generate a shot in either of the last two games, Leon Draisaitl was thinking shot-first this afternoon as he piled eight shots on net. I know he wasn’t able to get one to go in for him, but having him firing the puck like that is going to help us when this cold patch snaps. Either way, Drai was still able to put two points on the board and you love to see it.
• I was torn on Evander Kane’s scrap with Brady Tkachuk in the second period. I absolutely love a good tilt and seeing those guys chuck ’em was good fun, but I also worried about how his wrist would hold up after missing three months with that scary cut.
• The Oilers didn’t even get a power play chance on Thursday night in Philly, but they got five of them against the Senators which made it almost a bummer that they were only able to score once. Either way, the boys finished at 1/5 with the man advantage.
• The PK was also reasonably steady against the league’s 2nd most power PP unit, killing off 3-of-4 shorthanded situations they faced. More impressive, however, was the fact that the Oilers scored two shorthanded goals.
• If you’re a fan of the Corskis, you’ll be thrilled to know that the Oilers outshot the Senators by a 40-29 margin. Great success.
• I’m thrilled to report that the Oilers won 51% of the faceoffs. Please take a minute to celebrate amongst yourselves.
• That win bumped the Oilers up into sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division.

PRESENTED BY BETWAY

THE FACE PALMERS

• Jake Sanderson tied the game (1-1) only 20 seconds into the second period with a low snap shot from the slot after taking a pass in high in the zone with plenty of time to pick his spot.
• Only 18 seconds after McLeod’s shortie, Claude Giroux pulled the Senators back to within a goal (3-2) after he was rewarded for driving to the net with a centering pass than took a friendly bounce off his skate and into the net.
• Were you surprised to hear that Erik Brannstrom scored his first goal in 121 games to tie the game (3-3) up in the dying minutes of the second period? As good as Campbell has been lately, he needed to have this one.
• Do I really have to say much about why it sucks to give up two late goals in the dying minutes of a period? No? Cool, let’s move on. Thankfully, we didn’t get burned for it this time.
• Klim Kostin left the game near the midway point of the third period after a hard collision near the boards and did not return. Since jumping into the lineup, Kostin has been a great story for this team, and having him miss any length of time would surely be a sizeable blow. May the Gords be with you, Klim Shady.
• How could you not feel for Anton Forsberg when you see the guy go down in agony the way he did in the third period? We don’t exactly know what happened but what I can say for sure is that he was in a really tough spot, and I wish him the best and a speedy recovery from what looked to be a gruesome injury.

SCORING SUMMARY

#GOODCONTENT

NATION VACATION TO TORONTO