The Edmonton Oilers were in San Jose on Wednesday night to square off against the Sharks in their final game of the regular season. After countless ups and downs throughout the year, the 2024-25 campaign ended on a high note with the Oilers defeating the Sharks by a 3-0 final score. Rest up, everybody; the real work starts in a few days.

I wish I were smarter so that I could come up with better words to describe how lucky we are to watch Connor McDavid on a nightly basis. Having the best player on earth doing his thing in an Oilers uniform is such a blessing, and the fact that this was the fifth time in a row and eighth time in his career that he’s reached the 100-point mark is almost unbelievable. McDavid is only the 4th player in NHL history to reach triple digits at least eight times, and it blows my mind on a daily basis. I remember the first time he hit the century mark, and how it was still rare for guys to do it. Remember when Jamie Benn won the Art Ross with 87 points? All these years later, our captain is still cranking out 100-point seasons, and I think having him do it again is the perfect time to remind us all to enjoy these moments because none of this is normal.

When I first started writing recaps for Oilersnation, I remember hoping that Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall or RNH would be able to hit 80 points. The idea of someone reaching 100 may as well have been asking to spend a weekend on Mars. It was never going to happen, so why bother thinking about it? Now we expect McDavid to hit AT LEAST 100 points on an annual basis, and I can’t even begin to put into perspective how crazy that is. I mean, look at the Gregor tweet above. McDavid has more 100-point seasons than 18 franchises. That’s some Game Genie level shit, my friends, and we shouldn’t take even a minute of his brilliance for granted. While this may be the norm for McDavid, it wasn’t that long ago when we dreamed of days like these in years 1-10 of the decade of darkness.

Is anyone else impressed that Stuart Skinner gave up only one goal in the two games he played since returning from injury? I’m impressed. After spending a few weeks on the shelf with a concussion thanks to a Mikko Rantanen knee to the head, we were all wondering how he would perform when he was able to come back. And in no uncertain terms, Skinner rose to the challenge with flying colours. And I don’t want to hear anyone diminishing those two starts because Winnipeg was on the second half of a back-to-back or because San Jose is terrible. After all, Skinner gave us the exact results we wanted.

With Skinner sure to get the start for Game 1 in Los Angeles, having his last two starts be successful has to be a positive as we kick off the postseason. As much as everybody thinks the Kings have a clear advantage in net — it’s hard to argue the numbers — we’ve also watched Skinner defeat the Kings the last two years. There’s something to be said about having been there and done that, and those results are something for Stu to keep in his pocket as the doubters start getting noisier. With a very tough seven-game series on deck, I hope this 18-save shutout can be a small dose of confidence as Skinner looks ahead to the weekend.

With the regular season done and our first-round opponent locked in, all we have to do is wait and hope these final few days off can make the difference for a few of our wounded soldiers. I know Connor McDavid said he doesn’t like that the team is being labelled as “walking wounded,” but it’s hard to ignore the names of guys who have been missing over the last few weeks. Now that the games will matter a lot more, having so much uncertainty for so many everyday players is a valid reason to be concerned. That said, I also think that having lowered expectations can also be a good thing.

Edmonton had all the pressure in the world with their Cup or Bust mantra from a year ago, and I think it could legitimately help them out by having people doubt their ability to put another run together. Maybe the haters can fuel everyone to crank up their game another gear, battle through the pain, and come up with their best hockey to beat the Kings for a fourth straight year and reaffirm their spot as a Stanley Cup contender. Despite having the injury bug heap adversity on our boys at the most critical time of the year, the team still finished the season with a 7-3-0 record, which is pretty impressive given the circumstances.

1. With the win, the Oilers have hit 100+ points in the standings for the fourth consecutive season.

2. Max Jones picked up his first goal with the Edmonton Oilers and first since the 2023-24 season when he was with the Anaheim Ducks. Jones picked up the goal by charging toward the net and banging home Adam Henrique’s centering pass that was quickly pounded past the keeper.

3. How about Ty Emberson scoring two goals all season and having them both go in against the San Jose Sharks? Incredible. Of all the revenge goals I expected to see this season, I don’t know I would have had two from Emberson against his former club on my Bingo card. Either way, it’s pretty funny that both his goals with his new club came in games against his former club. That has to be a unique stat of some kind.

4. What a season by Corey Perry, right? With the empty-netter he scored late in the third period to ice the game, Perry finished his 200th season with 19 goals, and I am so impressed with what he’s done in his 39-year-old season. I know plenty of us raised an eyebrow at the value of his contract when he re-signed, but Perry has demolished expectations by a wide margin, and I can’t be happier about being wrong for doubting him. I knew he was a reasonable re-sign target, but I never expected him to put down a season like this.

5. Credit where credit is due: Josh Brown has been destroying people since being recalled from the Bakersfield Condors. The big man has been tagging opponents with some massive hits, and if he’s going to be in the lineup, then that’s the exact type of play we expect from him. You love to see him coming through on his end of the bargain.

6. As much as I hated him as an opponent, I loved how Logan Couture played hockey, and it was sad to hear that his body won’t let him continue with what was a fantastic NHL career. It really is too bad to see guys forced into retirement due to injury because the NHL is a better league with more talented players competing.

7. For the final time in the 2024-25 regular season, I’m disappointed to let you know that the Oilers won only 32.5% of the faceoffs. See you in the playoffs.

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