After wrapping up their four-game road trip with a pair of wins, the Edmonton Oilers were back at Rogers Place on Tuesday night to face off against the Utah Hockey Club for the third and final meeting of the season. The Oilers were looking to sweep the season series against Utah, and not only did they do that, but the boys put down what may have been their best game of the season. How else would you describe the 7-1 beatdown we all enjoy Tuesday night at Rogers Place?

How about back-to-back three-point games for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins? It was almost like the Hockey Gords heard our prayers about needing something to go right for RNH because the floodgates really opened up for him over the last two games. With the shorthanded goal and pair of primary assists, the guy picked up six points in just over four periods of play, and I couldn’t think of a greater gift for the offence down the stretch than if he could get hot when the games matter most.

While there’s no doubt that my man has had an up-and-down season, Nugent-Hopkins has been dialled in the last two games and acted as a major catalyst for the offence’s resurgence. And the best part of it is that Nuge is getting the job done while centering the third line, which would add an incredible layer of depth for the team if that trio can work. I know it’s early days, but Nugent-Hopkins, Arvidsson, and Podkolzin seem to have some chemistry brewing, and I couldn’t think of a greater win than if those three could keep making magic together.

When Zach Hyman scored 54 goals last season, I don’t think we expected him to return to that level again. It was one of those seasons that were ridiculously fun in the moment but always seemed unlikely to be repeated. That said, he’s a guy the Oilers desperately need to score if they’re going to be successful, and those goals have been much harder to come by in 2024-25. It’s not that ZMH isn’t getting his chances — he lives in the dirty areas on the ice for a living — but it’s been one of those years where getting things to click has been much more of a grind than it was a year ago.

Even so, seeing Hyman score two big goals against Utah by parking himself in front of the net makes me feel bullish that the tides will turn for him. The guy works so hard every time he’s on the ice, and it seems like only a matter of time before the dam breaks and the goals start flooding in for him again. And even if that doesn’t happen the way we want, having Hyman feeling good offensively would provide a significant boost for a team still trying to get its scoring figured out. I believe. Do you?

If you’re an Oilers fan, you already know how much we’ve been talking about the goaltending around here. Whether you participate in the arguments or not, there’s little doubt that our goalies are easily the most pressing issue on most people’s minds. That’s why I love seeing Calvin Pickard go and turn in a pair of rock-solid performances in his last two starts. Despite getting blown out on the scoreboard, Utah still managed to put 30 shots on goal, so it wasn’t like Pickard just had to stand there and do nothing. Instead, Pickard turned in a second straight win and looked fantastic in the process.

How can you not love this guy? No matter how often he plays or is doubted as a viable option in the Oilers’ crease, Calvin Pickard steps up more often than not and provides his team with a quality start. Outside of the disastrous first period against the Ducks that got him pulled on March 4th, three of our pal Cal’s last four starts have come with a save percentage of .960 or better. Those are ridiculous numbers for a backup goalie, and I wonder if he’s working his way into more playing time than we expected. He’s already disrupted Knoblauch’s 4-to-1 Skinner/Pickard split that we saw earlier in the season, but if he continues playing this well, I don’t know how you don’t keep going back to him.

1. The goal Connor McDavid scored at the end of the first period may have been one of the most ridiculous set plays I’ve ever seen, and my brain still can’t compute how incredible it was even after watching the replay 50 times. As the clock was winding down on the first period, I thought the Oilers might doddle with the puck a little bit to kill off what was left, but the team clearly had other ideas. That puck moved from Ekholm to Bouchard to McDavid and in the back of the net as quickly as I’ve ever personally seen, and it’s one of those highlights I’ll be re-watching for a while.

2. Two straight games with a goal from Viktor Arvidsson? In this economy? After Sunday’s game, I wrote about how important it is for the team’s success that Arvidsson finds a way to contribute some offence, and I loved seeing him cash in his 10th of the year in the opening moments of the third period. Don’t look now, but all of a sudden, Viktor Arvidsson has three goals in his last six games.

3. Didn’t it feel like forever since we’ve seen Mattias Ekholm in the lineup? While we’re still not quite sure what was keeping him off the ice — he talked about an illness and an injury after practice on Tuesday — it sure was nice to see him back in his usual spot beside Evan Bouchard. Not only was it great to have him back, but it was even better to see him snipe a goal, add two assists, put three shots on goal, and finish with a +3 rating in 21:27 of TOI.

4. Vasily Podkolzin hasn’t scored a whole lot this season, but it almost doesn’t make sense when you see the way he buried his shot over Stauber in the second period. That was a heavy shot by Podzilla, and I wish he would use it more than he does. Podkolzin has only 95 shots in 68 games, and he would do himself a major favour if he put more pucks on net.

5. Looking at the special teams, the Oilers went 0-for-3 on the power play while killing off 3-of-3 shorthanded situations they faced. As much as I wish the Oilers’ PP had come through with a goal — mostly for Leon Draisaitl — it’s hard to complain too much when the boys put a touchdown on the board. On the bright side, we love seeing the PK handle its business as effectively as it did. Frankly, the boys made Utah look like they didn’t know how to “do” a power play.

6. Spring is in the air, and faceoffs are on my mind, so I’m disappointed to be telling you that the Oilers won only 49.1$ of the draws against Utah. It’s not the worst total a team can have, but you know I don’t like seeing anything under 50%.

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