The Edmonton Oilers haven’t exactly played their best hockey since coming back from the Christmas break, and I was hopeful that the visiting Nashville Predators could be just what the doctor ordered. The Oilers have ruined the Preds over the last few years, and I thought there was no better cure for what ails our boys than a team they’ve beaten for fun lately. And outside of a few scary moments toward the end when Nashville tried to make things interesting, the Oilers understood the assignment and handled their business en route to a 6-2 win.

I don’t know how many times Connor McDavid is going to force me to write about him in my post-game breakdowns, but I am up for the challenge. It’s not that McDavid doesn’t give us something to write about every night anyway, but the heater he’s been on for the last month is a spectacle that doesn’t come around often, and I am thoroughly enjoying it. He’s making things look easy that would be career highlights for normal players, and the result is a 16-game point streak that’s leaving destruction in its wake. On the goal he scored in the first period, No. 97 made half of the Predators’ penalty kill look like they’d never played the game before, including a confused Juuse Saros who had no idea what was happening. And the penalty shot goal? Ridiculous. Hat trick? You’ve gotta collect the whole set.

I wish I was smarter so I could think of a better way to describe the freak-like nature of what he’s doing other than shrieking “OHHHHH MY GOD” from my couch, but it’s the best I’ve got and also feels fitting for the situation. My brain can barely keep up with what my eyes are seeing when I watch Connor play, let alone whatever is going on in his head to have his legs and hands doing what they do at 9,000 mph. The guy is seeing time in slow motion, this heater is otherworldly, and I pray to the Gords every day that he never walks away from the table. Over these last 16 games, our captain has registered 17 goals and 22 assists for 39 points, or for the math nerds in the room, 2.44 points per game. While we don’t know how long this run will last, I do know that Connor McDavid is appointment TV, and I don’t plan to miss a second of whatever else he’s got cooking.

Did you really think the Oilers were going to play the Nashville Predators and we weren’t going to talk about Leon Draisaitl? The guy has absolutely owned the Predators over the last handful of years, and Tuesday’s season-series opener was another chapter in that same story. While it took a little time for the big man to get going, there was nothing Nashville could do to stop him once he did. Shift after shift, Draisaitl got progressively better as the game wore on, and he flexed all over the Predators to the tune of a three-point night while both of his linemates collected two points of their own. Draisaitl wanted to take over, and his linemates were the beneficiaries.

But one good night isn’t anything new for Draisaitl, especially when it comes to the Predators. Like I said, he kills them on a regular basis and likely haunts their dreams any time they see Edmonton on the schedule. With the three points he picked up on Tuesday, Drai now has a ridiculous 22 goals and 20 assists for 42 points in his last 16 games against Nashville. Stretch it out even further and Leon has 27 goals in his last 21 games against the Preds. He dominates this team almost every time they play, and it’s one of the wildest examples of dominance against a single opponent that I’ve ever seen. It reminds me of when I was in Atom hockey and this kid on my team named Dylan used to bring his much older brother on the ice and run us kids in circles. Draisaitl is doing the same thing, with the only difference being that he’s doing it in the NHL.

How could you not feel good for Kasperi Kapanen for making his return to the lineup after missing 36 games with a lower-body injury? Kapanen initially got hurt against Detroit on October 19th and ended up re-injuring himself at practice in November, shortly before he was scheduled to return. We all saw the video of him smashing the stick rack, and you knew whatever happened a) wasn’t good, and b) he knew it immediately. So, I was pulling for him in his first game back in two-and-a-half months after a tough luck break wiped out half his year. Gord knows the Oilers need more secondary scoring, and Kapanen is a guy who can chip in with a few goals from time to time.

Not to mention, Kris Knoblauch put him in a great spot to try and make something happen on Leon Draisaitl’s right wing, and it didn’t take long for Kapanen to pay him back for the support. At 18:52 of the second period, Kapanen found the back of the net by charging toward the net, finding a loose puck, and getting just enough to sneak it through Saros for the 4-0 goal. At 13:46 of the third period, he grabs the primary assist on Leon Draisaitl’s 21st of the year. I can only imagine how good a night like that must have felt after waiting as long as he did to get back on the ice. Kapanen isn’t a guy who gets much love around the league or even here in market, but it’s the sneaky, greasy goals like the one he scored that are so important to this team’s success. Moar pls.

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