Three Key Things: Zach Hyman can’t stop scoring, Oilers in the wildcard spot, and revenge games

ZACH HYMAN, WE SPEAK YOUR NAME

WE’RE IN A PLAYOFF SPOT

BROWN AND CECI REVENGE GAME

OTHER THINGS WORTH MENTIONING

• They can’t all be Picassos, but last night’s game was as sloppy as the Oilers have been since their win streak began. I’m not saying they were bad — clearly, they got the job done — but rather that they weren’t nearly as sharp as they have been recently. Their passes were too often a foot long or a foot short, set plays looked out of sync, and there was a general sense of rust that tends to happen after a four-day break. I know this sounds nitpicky, given the result, but there were times when I felt lucky that the Oilers were playing the Senators instead of a team that actually matters. It’s harsh, but you know exactly what I mean.
• How about a casual three-assist night for Evan Bouchard after he got a touch on all three of the Oilers’ goals? The guy is on fire right now, and it won’t be surprising when he gets more Norris votes when the season is over than anyone would have expected early on. Suddenly, the trade Bouchard crowd is mighty quiet these days.
• Connor McDavid extended his point streak to seven games with the assist on Hyman’s third goal of the night. In this latest point streak, McDavid has already amassed 13 points (3G 10A).
• With the assist on Hyman’s first goal, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is quietly on pace for an 84-point season, and I think more people should be talking about it. Somehow, the guy is defying the aging curve, and I believe his story deserves more attention than it gets outside of this city.
• Stuart Skinner was back between the pipes for his 27th appearance of the season and tasked with keeping the win streak alive. Though not as busy as his counterpart, Stu was rock solid when called upon and actually made some massive saves at critical points of the game to keep his team in the lead. At even strength and on the power play, I don’t think it’s a stretch to put Skinner in the conversation for the team’s best player on the night after finishing with 30 saves and a .968 save%.
• Anton Forsberg proved to be an annoying adversary, didn’t he? The Oilers probably would have won this game by a touchdown had it not been for him.
• There were too many instances early in the game when the Oilers were passing to no one in particular. The NHL site had the Oilers listed with 10 giveaways, but I think that number is a little light based on what my eyeballs told me.
• The Oilers’ power play hasn’t been quite as powerful over the last few weeks, and I wondered how they’d fare against a Sens team that ranks dead last in PK percentage. As we now know, the Oilers picked up two massive goals on the man advantage, and I want to thank the Senators for allowing them to work some things out in the process.
• When down a man, the Oilers continued their PK success, killing off three-of-three shorthanded situations they faced.
• No post-game article worth its weight without me letting you know that the Oilers won 59.6% of the faceoffs.
• The game wasn’t really close on the shot clock as the Oilers outshot the Senators by a 46-30 margin. With the win, the Oilers are now 2-6-1 when firing more than 40 shots on goal. Wild stat.
• I wanted to thank Tom Kostiuk for hooking me up with these very cool custom Nation coasters over the holidays. If you’re looking for gifts with a homemade feel, getting in touch with Tom is the way to go to make that happen.

THE #NATIONVACATION TO ARIZONA