The Edmonton Oilers had one final game to play before the 4 Nations break, and with the Colorado Avalanche in town, you knew it would be a beauty. And while it absolutely was as entertaining of a game as advertised, the bad news was that the Avs won the track meet to the tune of a 5-4 final.

With 40 goals on the season after another clutch performance by Leon Draisaitl, it really seems like the sky is the limit for our freshly extended German hero. As you can see in the graphic above, Draisaitl’s two-goal performance puts him in the 40-goal club for the sixth time overall and fourth in a row. Yet, even though he’s filling the net like it’s an easy thing to do in the NHL, I still don’t think enough people outside of this market are talking about the fact that he’s quietly on pace for a 60-goal season.

For a guy who has played plenty of fantastic hockey in his time as an Oiler, watching Leon Draisaitl crank his game up to another level in the season following his eight-year extension adds another layer of wonderful to the story. The guy seems to be getting better and more dominant by the day, and I hope he enjoys the vacation to wherever he’ll be going over these next two weeks because the guy deserves it. Rest up, big man, we’re going to need more of this warlord behaviour when you get back.

How good has Corey Perry been this season? I’ll be the first to admit that I was ho-hum on the idea of re-signing him last summer, but that decision has proven to be an excellent one to this point in the season. Despite knocking on 40 years old, Perry has a found a way to evolve as his role has change, and the result has been a lot of fun to watch. The guy is still as annoying as he’s ever been, but he’s also coming up with big goals way more often than I ever would have expected.

I know we’ve been talking about the Oilers’ secondary scoring a lot lately, but Corey Perry is not one of those issues. Instead, he’s on an 18-goal pace despite averaging under 12 minutes in time on ice. How can you not love that story? Even though a lot of us thought the $1.4 million Jeff Jackson gave him was a hair too much, it’s hard to argue with the value we’re getting from him at that number. I almost can’t believe that we’re seeing this version of him even at this stage of his career. No, Corey Perry isn’t the same player who won the Rocket Richard trophy with the Ducks, but he’s absolutely coming through as a clutch player for the 2025 Oilers.

I didn’t expect much from Perry when he was re-signed, but I am delighted to say that he’s making me look more and more wrong every single night.

As much as Friday’s game against the Avalanche was as entertaining as you can get in the NHL, it’s a tough way to go out in the last game before a 14-day break. I mean no disrespect to the Avalanche at all — they played a great game — but scoring four goals and losing felt like a wasted opportunity for the Oilers. As much as we needed another goal, it’s also frustrating to get no points on a night when the skaters probably produced enough to get the job done.

Maybe it’s because the Oilers played for the last time and lost last night, or maybe it’s because I’m not overly excited about the 4 Nations Face-Off, but I’m bummed that we have to wait two weeks for the boys to be back on the ice again. Given Edmonton’s success over the last two months, it’s almost a shame that the good times can’t keep rolling. We’re only talking about a short break in the big picture, but I also have an idea of what these rascals will likely get to with the newfound time and flush bank accounts.

1. You’ve gotta think the Evan Bouchard extension is looking cheaper than it was in September, right? Probably by quite a bit.

2. I can’t even enjoy a two-point night by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as much as I should be able to.

3. I don’t want to talk about the goaltending again. I’m tired. So tired. All you need to know is that Calvin Pickard came in for the second period. That’s all I’m giving you. So very tired.

4. It’s confusing how the Oilers power play can look so bad and yet be so effective at the same time. The good news is that the PP went 2/4 on the night. The bad news is that they also gave up a shorthanded goal.

5. What happened to the Oilers’ penalty kill over the last handful of games? Over on Twitter, I saw Gregor post that the Oilers’ penalty kill allowed a goal on five consecutive kills. Two vs the Lefas, one in St. Louis, one in Chicago, and then on the first Colorado power play chance on Friday. Thankfully, Edmonton killed off Colorado’s next four power plays, including an extended 5-on-3, but things were getting ugly for a minute.

6. How will I ever survive two weeks without letting you know that the Oilers won 49.2% of the faceoffs? Admit it, you’ll miss it too.

7. The NHL site had the Oilers’ giveaways listed at 17 but that seems generous to me.

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