GDB 20.0 Wrap Up: Oilers breeze past Ducks for second lopsided win in a row
7 months ago
I would 8-2 be a fan of the Anaheim Ducks.
The Ducks led in Edmonton by a score of 2-1 a few minutes into the first period on Sunday but the Oilers scored seven unanswered goals to win in commanding fashion.
Connor McDavid led the way with one goal and four assists, Zach Hyman scored a couple of goals, Edmonton native James Hamblin scored his first goal at home, and Stuart Skinner stopped 21 of 23 shots that the Ducks threw his way in the win.
THE WRAP UP IS PRESENTED BY BETWAY
Oilersnation’s Player of the Game: Connor McDavid
Yeah, Connor McDavid is BACK, and so are the Oilers. On Sunday, he scored Edmonton’s second goal but also added four assists for the second consecutive game.
Coming into Friday’s game, McDavid was at a point-per-game pace, putting up 16 points in 16 games. For any other player, this would be acceptable, but for McDavid? Not quite.
After going off for a goal and eight assists in just two games, McDavid now has seven goals and 25 points in 18 games. The king is back, baby.
Things worth mentioning:
Darnell Nurse had one of his best games of the season, putting up three assists and a +3. He also drew a penalty on a slew foot that led to Edmonton’s eighth goal of the game. The 28-year-old defenceman now has three goals and eight points on the season.
Stuart Skinner allowed two weak goals early in the game, but buckled down with a big glove save on a two-on-one to preserve Edmonton’s 3-2 lead. Overall, he saved 21 shots on 23 attempts for a .913 save percentage. Over his last seven games, Skinner is playing above .900 hockey, which was needed.
Vincent Desharnais had two assists on Sunday for his first multi-point game of his career. In fact, he has three points in his last two games. Whatever Paul Coffey has been saying to him and Cody Ceci is obviously working.
Mattias Ekholm looks like the defenceman he was last season. He scored his third goal of the season, but he’s just overall playing better the past few games. Ekholm had a late start to his season as he missed all of preseason due to an injury.
Zach Hyman is living up to his contract. The 31-year-old has 12 goals and 22 points and is first on the team in scoring. He and Evander Kane (who also scored his 10th goal of the season on Monday) have really driven Edmonton’s scoring from players not named Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been playing better as of late as well, and he picked up his fifth goal of the season and his 18th point. Not only was this Nuge’s 18th point of the season, but it was also his 650th career goal. Keep Nuge forever.
James Hamblin scored his second career goal on a rush, and his first ever in Edmonton. He’s been a nice addition to a bottom-six that has had issues scoring this season.
Connor Brown picked up his first point as an Edmonton Oiler on Kane’s opening goal. There’s no point in cutting him now as he’s already reached 10 games, but let’s just hope that he can start to find his game now that he’s fully healthy.
Edmonton returns to action on Tuesday with a Western Conference semifinal rematch against the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Vegas Golden Knights. After starting their season off hot, Vegas has played “meh” hockey as of late, going 3-5-1 since November 5, and playing .500 hockey in the month of November as a whole.
Despite the 7-12-1 record, Edmonton only sits six points out of a wild card spot (with two games in hand), while also needing to jump ahead of five teams. One of these teams is Anaheim, who is now on a six-game losing streak. Their season would all but be over in the east, but that’s not how geography works. Let’s keep winning!
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