With the Oilers staying quiet on deadline day, we got our first look at what the mostly formed team will look like on Friday against the Hurricanes. Unfortunately, that game did not go our way. Instead, the Oilers fell 6-3, looking lost again. Taking another embarrassing L really ramped up the pressure to put in a much better effort on Sunday against their divisional rival, the Vegas Golden Knights. There was no room for another bad game. And while there were certainly bumps in the road along the way, the Oilers got timely goal scoring from throughout their lineup en route to a crucial 4-2 win.

With the Oilers’ goaltending situation at the front of mind for basically anyone who watches this team, Connor Ingram was next up with the chance to take the ball and run with it. Coming into Sunday’s start, Ingram had posted a save percentage of .900 or higher only three times in his last 10 appearances. While there’s no doubt a big part of that is because of the porous defence happening in front of him, I think we can all agree that you’d want your goalies covering up a few more of those mistakes. And with the stakes high against a Pacific Division rival you’re chasing in the standings, Ingram needed to buck the trend and give the Oilers the foundation they needed to win. And to his credit, I thought he did exactly that.

Outside of the awful goal that was disallowed anyway on the offside review, Connor Ingram had one his strongest performances in recent memory. He made the saves he needed to, looked calm between the pipes, and covered up most of the mistakes that happened out in front of him. It’s not like the 26 shots he faced were all softies from the outside either. Vegas pressed hard in the second period, and Ingram was called upon to make more than a few timely saves, and he got the job done to lead Edmonton to a massive four-point swing. If anything, the only unfortunate part about his 24-save win was that the Oilers coughed up that ghastly giveaway late in the third period that led to Jack Eichel’s 22nd goal of the season. Had it not been for that one, we’d be celebrating a save percentage even higher than the .923 Ingram posted, even though there’s still plenty to like about a number like that.

I will never get tired of having the opportunity to write about depth scoring, and the Oilers got some key goals last night to lock in the win. Starting with Trent Frederic scoring his second goal in his last four games, Edmonton got a goal from their fourth line to open the scoring and quiet the crowd. That’s a massive moment for a trio that floats around ~10-12 minutes per night. Next up was the absolute stunner by Vasily Podkolzin that saw the Russian forward win a puck battle off the draw, drive through the neutral zone, outwork his man, and slide the puck toward the net with just enough gas on it to cross the line for his career-high 15th goal of the season. Last but not least, we had Kasperi Kapanen nailing the coffin shut with the empty-netter after Connor McDavid set him up to walk the puck into the open cage.

Having three of four goals scored by players not named McDavid, Draisaitl, or Hyman is a massive win for the Oilers, and we saw last night in Vegas how important those depth contributions can be. Had we not gotten goals from throughout the lineup, we’d be raging about another blown opportunity against a struggling team. Instead, four different players landed in the goal column, and the Oilers pulled themselves to within two points of Vegas and three from the Pacific Division lead. Not that we should expect three depth goals per night, but if we can get these kinds of guys chipping in with more regularity, the Oilers could end up being a problem down the stretch. I know it’s a big ask and everything, but I also can’t stop myself from drinking the Kool-Aid after a four-point swing game like that either.

After two games of watching Connor Murphy, you quickly see that the guy is a capital D defensive defenceman. He’s almost a throwback in a way. While moving the puck up ice takes a half-second longer than you’d like sometimes, there’s no doubt that his first focus is keeping his own yard clean. Despite getting thrown in the fire with next to no practice time, it’s nice to see a guy in the right position more often than not. I’m not saying he’s been perfect. There are bound to be bumps in the road while he settles into his new team, but it didn’t take long to see why Bowman targeted him at the deadline, and I honestly think he can help be a solution on the back end. All I know for sure is that it’s refreshing to watch a guy who cares that much about defence.

Against the Golden Knights, Murphy was steady in the 22:33 that he played, finishing only a minute behind Darnell Nurse for the team-lead in minutes. In 29 shifts, No. 5 finished with one shot on goal, three blocks, and two hits, while starting the bulk of his shifts either on the fly or in the defensive zone. All I’m saying is that Murphy has arrived as advertised, and I’m very excited to see how much of a calming presence he can be as he gets more comfortable. We already see the Oilers tossing him over the boards at important points in his first two games, and if Sunday’s performance was any indication, it won’t take long for Nation Citizens everywhere to fall in love with this guy. Edmonton loves an honest effort, and that’s what I saw from Connor Murphy against Vegas.

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